Tag Archives: CTX

HiRISE: Formations in context (Or, what is it?)

Some HiRISE images show strange-looking formations. Sometimes it helps to look at Context Camera images to understand the circumstances of a scene—like this cutout from CTX 033783_1509—which here shows an impact crater with a central peak, and a collapse depression … Continue reading

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Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter preps aging hardware, instruments for extended operation

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has begun extra stargazing to help the space agency accomplish advances in Mars exploration over the next decade. The spacecraft already has worked more than double its planned mission life since launch in 2005. NASA … Continue reading

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MRO completes 50,000 orbits

The most data-productive spacecraft yet at Mars swept past its 50,000th orbit this week, continuing to compile the most sharp-eyed global coverage ever accomplished by a camera at the Red Planet. In addition, the spacecraft — NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Cluster of recent impacts

The dark spots in this enhanced-color infrared image are the recent impact craters that occurred in the Tharsis region between 2008 and 2014. These impact craters were first discovered by the Mars Context Camera (or CTX, also onboard the Mars … Continue reading

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MRO spots Schiaparelli impact scar, parachute

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified new markings on the surface of the Red Planet that are believed to be related to ESA’s ExoMars Schiaparelli entry, descent and landing technology demonstrator module. Schiaparelli entered the martian atmosphere at 14:42 GMT … Continue reading

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Hunting ice cap ‘spiders’ through citizen science

Ten thousand volunteers viewing images of Martian south polar regions have helped identify targets for closer inspection, yielding new insights about seasonal slabs of frozen carbon dioxide and erosional features known as “spiders.” From the comfort of home, the volunteers … Continue reading

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Mars Human Exploration Zone CTX image-maps

We [the US Geological Survey] have created 39 regional semi-controlled CTX mosaics at 5m/pixel for the 2015 proposed Mars Human Exploration zones. They are individually available for download in GeoTiff format from the “Online Linkage” tag below. Cosmetically, mosaics will … Continue reading

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Rise and fall of Martian lakes

There is a wealth of evidence, collected over the past few decades, suggesting liquid water was abundant in the early history of Mars. However, the size, evolution, and duration of standing bodies of water such as lakes on Mars’ surface … Continue reading

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Help wanted: categorizing south polar features

Science-team members for NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are soliciting help from the public to analyze exotic features near the south pole of Mars. By categorizing features visible in images from the orbiter’s Context Camera (CTX), volunteers are using their own … Continue reading

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Gale Crater’s icy hydrological cycle

Gale Crater was once home to glaciers and other features of an icy hydrological system, says a team of scientists led by Alberto Fairén (Centro de Astrobiología in Spain and Cornell University). They base their work on images captured with the … Continue reading

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