Tag Archives: craters

Mars air has been cold, thin for 3.6 billion years

Posted on April 21, 2014 by rburnham

The atmosphere of Mars today, 95% carbon dioxide, is cold and thin, with less than 1% of Earth’s surface pressure. Yet long ago, it must have been dense enough to allow rivers and streams to flow in many areas of … Continue reading →

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THEMIS: Channels

Posted on April 18, 2014 by rburnham

THEMIS Image of the Day, April 18, 2014. Many small channels are visible in this VIS image of Arabia Terra. More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.

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HiRISE: Wall of Orson Welles Crater

Posted on April 11, 2014 by rburnham

Beautiful Mars series. Wall of Orson Welles Crater. More Beautiful Mars images.

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HiRISE: Slumping terraces on a crater wall

Posted on April 10, 2014 by rburnham

This image shows the western rim of a well-preserved 8.5-kilometer (about 5 miles) diameter impact crater. The wall features a slumped terrace that extends all the way around the crater diameter (the adjacent image show the rest of the terrace). … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Margin of a crater near Meridiani Planum

Posted on April 8, 2014 by rburnham

Beautiful Mars series: Margin of a crater near Meridiani Planum. More Beautiful Mars images.

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HiRISE: Irregular crater intersecting graben in Tractus Albus

Posted on April 4, 2014 by rburnham

This crater, of which only a small portion is visible in the full HiRISE image, is very irregularly shaped and might suggest that some underlying liquid was present that made it so elongated after the initial impact. Another reason for … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Elevated crater in the Apollinaris Mons region

Posted on April 4, 2014 by rburnham

Impact craters are very common on the surface of Mars. However, when a circular depression is visible on the summit of a mound or an elevated landform in general, careful analysis is needed to identify whether the crater is created … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Mission 2020, candidate landing site in Gusev Crater

Posted on April 3, 2014 by rburnham

As we did for Phoenix in 2008 and the Mars Science Laboratory in 2012, HiRISE has been imaging landing sites for a potential rover mission in 2020. With HiRISE resolution, mission teams can examine what areas of Mars are flat … Continue reading →

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HiRISE: Wall of Warra Crater

Posted on April 2, 2014 by rburnham

Beautiful Mars series. The wall of Warra Crater. More Beautiful Mars images.

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HiRISE: Dark-toned pitted mound in a crater in NE Arabia Terra

Posted on March 26, 2014 by rburnham

This fascinating observation shows us a dark-toned mound with pits inside an impact crater. Are these pits the result of sublimation? The crater itself is an ancient one, as evidenced by the eroded rim. For the mound inside, HiRISE resolution … Continue reading →

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