Red Planet Report

HiRISE image: Cratered cones near the Tharsis region

Posted on February 14, 2014 by rburnham

Beautiful Mars series: Cratered cones near the Tharsis region. More Beautiful Mars images.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Beautiful Mars, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, rootless cones, Tharsis, University of Arizona, volcanics | Comments Off

Curiosity raw image: Sol 542, February 14, 2014

Posted on February 14, 2014 by rburnham

Checking the tires. Driving over angular rocks, especially ones lying on hard surfaces rather than soft soil, has put dings on Curiosity’s wheels, and mission controllers are planning smoother routes to get to Mt. Sharp. NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), located on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm, on February 14, 2014, Sol 542 of the Mars Science Laboratory Mission, at 01:28:28 UTC. More Sol 542 images (all cameras).

Posted in Reports | Tagged Curiosity, Gale Crater, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL, NASA | Comments Off

HiRISE image: Hadrian’s Wall?

Posted on February 14, 2014 by rburnham

Beautiful Mars series: Hadrian’s Wall? Ridges and light-toned material north of Atlantis Chaos. More Beautiful Mars images.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Atlantis Chaos, Beautiful Mars, chaos, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, ridges, University of Arizona | Comments Off

CRISM image: Volcanics and sulfates in Juventae Chasma

Posted on February 14, 2014 by rburnham

Juventae Chasma is a large canyon located northeast of the Valles Marineris canyon system in the equatorial part of Mars’ western hemisphere. Valles Marineris is about the size of the Mediterranean Sea if it were emptied of water; it would span the length of the United States! Juventae Chasma is about the size as Lake Huron if it were empty – but Lake Huron is not nearly as deep. This mound on the canyon floor… [More at link]

Posted in Reports | Tagged Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, CRISM, Juventae Chasma, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA | Comments Off

Opportunity image: Where’d that Jelly Donut rock come from?

Posted on February 14, 2014 by rburnham

(Real name: Pinnacle Island.) This image from the panoramic camera (Pancam) on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows where a rock called “Pinnacle Island” had been before it appeared in front of the rover in early January 2014. This image was taken during the 3,567th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity’s work on Mars (Feb. 4, 2014). Pinnacle Island, in the lower left corner of this scene, has a dark-red center and white rim, an appearance that has been likened to a jelly doughnut. It showed up in front of Opportunity in an image taken on Sol 3540 (Jan. 8, 2014) at a location where the rock had been absent in an image taken… [More at link]

Posted in Reports | Tagged Endeavour Crater, Jelly Donut, Mars Exploration Rover, MER, Murray Ridge, NASA, Opportunity, Pinnacle Island, Solander Point | Comments Off

THEMIS image: North polar dunes

Posted on February 14, 2014 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, February 14, 2014. This VIS image shows a portion of the huge dune field located at the north polar cap. As spring continues to deepen, the dunes are becoming darker and darker as they lose their winter frost cover. More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

Posted in Reports | Tagged Arizona State University, ASU, dunes, Mars Odyssey, NASA, north polar sand sea, polar sand dunes, sand, sand dunes, THEMIS, Thermal Emission Imaging System | Comments Off

HiRISE image: Bright sediments in Ladon Basin

Posted on February 13, 2014 by rburnham

This image shows some bright layered deposits exposed within a linear trough along the floor of the Ladon Basin. There is a large channel system that flows into the basin, called Ladon Valles, and scientists think that the basin may have once filled with water before another channel to the north formed and drained it. These exposures of light-toned layered sediments provide clues about the environment that existed … [More at link]

Posted in Reports | Tagged channels, High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE, Ladon Basin, Ladon Valles, layers, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO, NASA, sediments, University of Arizona | Comments Off

HiRISE image: Viewing Dingo Gap

Posted on February 13, 2014 by rburnham

In this image, we see the saddle between two valleys named Dingo Gap — in Gale Crater — where the rover Curiosity just traversed. The gap is spanned by a single dune visible both from the ground and from orbit. (The rover itself is not in this image as it was acquired before MSL landed.) With images taken with the Mastcam on Curiosity, we can see a view looking northwest and the Dingo Gap where the rover recently crossed.