HiPOD 6 Jun 2022: Layering in Far Eastern Candor Chasma

Context Camera images suggest that sedimentary layers here are organized into bundles of quasi-periodic beds. This is important because it might be an indication of “orbital forcing,” which is the effect of climate on changes in a planet’s axial tilt and orbit around the Sun. It is worth testing to see if orbital forcing of sedimentation also occurred here in Valles Marineris.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_070911_1720
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars

HiPOD 3 Jun 2022: Delta or Fan?

Delta or fan deposits on Mars indicate past water activity. HiRISE can resolve sedimentary characteristics such as layering, stratigraphic relationship to the surrounding geologic setting or distributary channels that cannot be resolved by other camera experiments. Textural details can reveal the type and evolutionary history of a sedimentary body.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_072780_2165
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiRISE 10K: Pit Fill at the Terminus of an Alluvial Fan

This scene is north of the massive Hellas impact basin the Southern Hemisphere of Mars. (See link for full cutout.)

https://flic.kr/p/2nphgvZ
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

HiRISE 3D: Monitoring the Region near the Viking 2 Lander for Changes

Anaglyphs are especially useful to detect changes to the landscape over time. Viking 2 touched down in Utopia Planitia on September 1976 and its mission ended in April 1980.

https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_043895_2280_ESP_026159_2280_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science

And here's a larger view of today's HiPOD:

HiPOD 2 Jun 2022: Among the Yardangs

Is the sinuous ridge here a “fluvial-ridge,” i.e., an inversion of a fluvial sediment deposit? It is important to inventory as much of the Medusae Fossae Formation region for depositional structures that give clues to the processes that emplaced the material. We also want to understand the extent to which a pyroclastic hypothesis of formation can be applied or not.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_070915_1710
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiRISE 8K: Cerberus Fossae Slopes

The fossae have long been proposed to be very tectonically active. Our goal is to look for new rockfalls that might indicate current seismic shaking. (See link for full cutout and additional information.)

https://flic.kr/p/2np5i2k
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science

HiRISE 3D: Layering in a Graben Wall

A graben is a depression that forms between two parallel faults. This scene is directly north of Olympus Mons in Arcadia Planitia.

https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_028793_2265_ESP_072482_2265_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science

HiPOD 1 June 2022: Depressions near Coogoon Valles

This feature likely formed by collapse. Its origin is unknown, but it fits the bill of a candidate caldera formed through ancient explosive eruptions near the dichotomy boundary. This region is characterized by a thinner crust compared to the rest of the highlands and by the occurrence of massive clay-bearing materials.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_070883_1970
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiRISE 4K: Between Olympus Mons and Daedalia Planum

This small section of the large terrain swath between Olympus Mons and Daedalia Planum is interesting because of the different topography in a single scene: the ground seems to “flow” one way but then we see a ridge that appears to cut across it. There are also numerous pit-like features throughout. (See link for full cutout.)

https://flic.kr/p/2np3W5Z
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

HiRISE 3D: A Small, Fresh Impact Crater in Terra Sabaea

Of course, we mean geologically “fresh”, although we can still see some of the ejecta that has not completely faded. The crater is about 500 meters across and has a very eroded rim.

https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_045283_1675_ESP_072502_1675_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science

HiPOD 31 May 2022: Those Gypsum Dunes

This image suggestion outlines a contact between gypsum-rich dunes in Olympia Undae and flat-lying layers of the basal (or bottom) unit. Our goal is to look for a stratigraphic and compositional comparison between the dunes and the basal unit.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_070833_2605
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiRISE 3D: A Large Gully Alcove in Ross Crater

This gully is located on the north wall of the crater, and is much larger than adjacent gullies visible in a Context Camera image.

https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_022951_1230_ESP_067219_1230_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science

HiPOD: The Scar of a Landslide

This gorgeous landslide is the kind of feature where having a stereo pair is needed, and that was the basis for this observation. A resulting 3D image can help to model and simulate the flow mechanism to understand how this landslide formed. High resolution can also help us study specific features on the landslide scar like boulders and ridges.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_070830_1795
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiPOD 27 May 2022: Layering West of Arabia Terra

This image is based on a request to retarget a site to create a stereo pair. Adjacent images to the east show a series of buttes with very little stratigraphic overlap. The region in this observation have long sequences of strata potentially recording the full paleo-stratigraphic column that can help us learn more about the ancient environment and how it formed.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_065856_1890
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiRISE 8K: Southerly Dunes in North Polar Erg

A rather poetic-sounding title for this observation. (See link for full cutout and additional information.)

https://flic.kr/p/2nnERfE
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

HiRISE 3D: Frost Avalanches

In the year before this image, there were frost avalanches on the cliff. This image is to help monitor for anything occurring in the early Martian spring.

https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_024877_2655_ESP_068935_2655_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

HiPOD 26 May 2022: When Lava Flows Attack!

While we have coverage of the eastern side of this crater, this view of the western flank shows that lava flows poured over the crater’s rim and down towards the interior. The flows appear to have entered from the southwest and northwest sides. Full resolution helps us take a look in greater detail at the flows.

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_065848_1470
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

HiRISE 4K: An Inverted Channel in Arabia Terra

HiRISE was requested to obtain this image in order to investigate the stratigraphy of the ridge and the depositional history of the river system. (See link for full cutout and additional info.)

https://flic.kr/p/2nnCUPH
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

HiRISE 3D: Dunes in Nili Patera

Now, who doesn’t like an image of dunes in 3D? Pay attention to the sand “thread” on the right side of the image. Interesting how that might have formed!

https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_023353_1890_ESP_023076_1890_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science