HiRISE (NASA)
HiRISE is a high resolution camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA). We take images of the surface of Mars. Based out of UArizona in Tucson.
Joined Aug 2018
HiPOD: North Polar Layers: Streaking and Unconformity
This oblique image of part of the North Polar layered deposits, acquired in the summertime, shows both phenomena in the upper and lower panels, plus a topographic bend in the middle panel. Blue areas in this enhanced color image are covered by frost, whereas the darker colors are from differences in contamination and texture of the icy layers.
HiPOD: The White Cliffs of Rover
This image reminds us of the rugged and open terrain of a stark shore-line, perhaps of an island nation, such as the British Isles. A close-up in enhanced color produces a striking effect, giving the impression of a cloud-covered cliff edge with foamy waves crashing against it.
The reality is that the surface of Mars is much dryer than our imaginations might want to suggest.
HiRISE 3D: Mesa Stratigraphy at Terby Crater
The 2-3 km sequence of stratigraphy exposed across the three mesas in the northeastern portion of Terby Crater likely capture a diverse range of sedimentary rock types that include deposition across all of the three major Martian geologic eras.
https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_083697_1530_ESP_083486_1530_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
HiPOD: A Volcanic Fissure
Although Mars is known for having the largest volcano in our Solar System, Olympus Mons, we also find small-scale volcanic features on its surface.
This fissure, less than 500 meters across at its widest point, lies in the Tharsis region and is believed to be a vent from which lava flowed in ancient eruptions.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_019391_1960
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiPOD: Once in a Blue Dune
Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters. In this region of Lyot Crater there is a field of classic barchan dunes.
Just to the south of the group of barchan dunes is one large dune with a more complex structure. This particular dune, appearing like turquoise blue in enhanced color*, is made of finer material and/or has a different composition than the surroundings.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_053894_2295
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiRISE 3D: Channels and Fan in a Crater in the Aeolis Region
The goal is understanding the local fan stratigraphy. There are at least three fans in this crater, but when did they form relative to each other?
https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_083681_1800_ESP_083470_1800_RED
HiPOD: Decoding a Geological Message
A close up image of a recent 150-meter diameter impact crater near Amazonis Mensa and Medusae Fossae is another great example of geologic complexity of Mars. The spider web-like texture of this crater is intriguing. But what does it mean?
Although Mars is not nearly as geologically active as Earth, it is still a host to many processes that shape its surface even today.
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_049167_1855
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiPOD: The “Specters” of Mars
The jagged saw-tooth dichotomy, over a grainy texture, seen in this close-up image, reminds us of a scene from an old silent horror movie. Stark and unnerving, like that time between dusk and darkness, as the campfire burns out...was that something moving you saw through the canvas of your tent?
HiPOD: Dragon Scales of Mars
This intriguing surface texture is the result of rock interacting with water. The rock was then eroded and later exposed to the surface. The pinkish, almost dragon-like scaled texture represents Martian bedrock that has specifically altered into a clay-bearing rock.
The nature of the water responsible for the alteration, and how it interacted with the rock to form the clay remains poorly understood.
More: https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_050275_1500
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars
HiPOD: Monitoring Sand Sheets and Dunes
This kind of environment has been monitored by HiRISE since 2007 to look for movement in the ripples covering the dunes and sheets. This is how scientists who study wind-blown sand can track the amount of sand moving through the area and possibly where the sand came from.
HiPOD: A Cliff of Ice in Malea Patera
Malea Patera is one of four volcanic constructs that make up Malea Planum in the Southern Highlands of Mars. This image shows the southern-most part of Malea Patera’s plateau escarpment.
On these steep scarps, ice can still be seen on the south facing walls of the scarp towards the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter.
ID: ESP_082999_1165
date: 10 April 2024
altitude: 249 km
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_082999_1165
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiRISE 3D: A Resistant Layer in the Medusae Fossae Formation
A resistant layer here, interpreted as a lava flow, was apparently interbedded with the MFF and is worth a closer look in 3D.
https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_082729_1830_ESP_083230_1830_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science
HiPOD: Gullies in a Southern Mid-Latitude Crater
These multi-elevation gullies have formed on the northern slope of a multi-lobed ejecta impact crater in Hesperia Planum in the ancient highlands of Mars. The higher elevation gullies have formed at or just below the crater rim with wide alcoves and some tributaries have eroded into underlying bedrock.
ID: ESP_082970_1465
date: 8 April 2024
altitude: 253 km
https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_082970_1465
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars
HiRISE 3D: Ridges Associated with Dipping Layers in Reull Vallis
Our goal is to investigate glacier -associated dipping layered deposits and land ridges closeby.
https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_082839_1390_ESP_083129_1390_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
HiPOD: These Are Not the Dunes You’re Looking For
In this picture, we discover that the dark bands thought to be sand dunes are instead bands of surface boulders. The bouldery area looks dark at lower resolution because these rocks cast small shadows. We think the bouldery bands are caused by the removal of finer-grained material.
More: https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_082871_1240
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiPOD: A Crater on a Crater Wall
It’s not that common to see craters on steep hills, partly because rocks falling downhill can quickly erase such craters. Here, however, a small impact occurred on the sloping wall of a larger crater and is well-preserved.
Dark, blocky ejecta from the smaller crater has flowed downhill (to the west) toward the floor of the larger crater. Understanding the emplacement of such ejecta on steep hills is an area of ongoing research.
HiPOD: Mars and the Amazing Technicolor Ejecta Blanket
The colors observed in this picture represent different rocks and minerals, now exposed on the surface. Blue in HiRISE infrared color images generally depicts iron-rich minerals, like olivine and pyroxene. Lighter colors, such as yellow, indicate the presence of altered rocks.
HiRISE 3D: Noachis Terra Channels
The goal of this 3D image is to examine a series of channels that converge, as well as looking for evidence of fluvial process.
https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_083172_1560_ESP_083106_1560_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiPOD: A Window into the Past
The layered sedimentary deposits inside the giant canyons of Mars have puzzled scientists for decades. These light toned deposits have fine, horizontal laminations that are unlike the rugged rim rock of the Valles Marineris.
Various ideas for the origin of the layered sediments have suggested lake deposits, wind blown dust and sand, or volcanic materials that erupted after the canyon was formed, and possibly filled with water.
HiRISE 3D: An Impact Crater and Ejecta
The goal of this awesome observation is study crater ejecta composition to give insights into the properties of Mars surface material.
https://www.uahirise.org/anaglyph/ESP_083244_1910_ESP_082677_1910_RED
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA
HiRISE (NASA)
HiRISE is a high resolution camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA). We take images of the surface of Mars. Based out of UArizona in Tucson.
Joined Aug 2018