Tag Archives: MEX

HRSC: Chaos in Atlantis basin

Posted on October 27, 2014 by rburnham

Mars is peppered with craters. Scientists have deduced that the red planet is struck by around 200 meteoroids every year that dig out new craters. While some small craters are fresh, Mars has a great many that are much larger … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Flight over chaotic terrain

Posted on October 20, 2014 by rburnham

Among the most interesting landforms on Mars are features referred to as ‘chaotic terrain’. Dozens or even hundreds of isolated mountains up to 2,000 m high are scattered in these extensive regions. Seen from orbit, they form a bizarre, chaotic … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Hooke Crater in Argyre basin

Posted on September 19, 2014 by rburnham

Hooke Crater is located near the northern edge of the 1800 km-wide Argyre basin, one of the most impressive impact structures on Mars, excavated in a giant collision about 4 billion years ago. Sitting in a flat part of the … Continue reading →

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Results of NASA Senior Review of Mars missions

Posted on September 3, 2014 by rburnham

The results of the 2014 Senior Review of ongoing major missions by NASA are given above. The table and the comments below are taken from the Senior Review Report (PDF), available at the website of the Planetary Science Subcommittee of … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Craters within the Hellas basin

Posted on August 18, 2014 by rburnham

Scarring the southern highlands of Mars is one of the Solar System’s largest impact basins: Hellas, with a diameter of 2300 km and a depth of over 7 km. Hellas is thought to have formed between 3.8 and 4.1 billion … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Perspective view of Hellespontus Montes

Posted on July 10, 2014 by rburnham

Perspective view of Hellespontus Montes, a rocky ridge on the western rim of the vast Hellas basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars. The foreground shows a close-up of a crater with a particularly interesting feature: wrinkles that form a … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Dune field in Rabe Crater

Posted on May 15, 2014 by rburnham

Rabe Crater is a 108 km-wide impact crater with an intricately shaped dune field. The dune material likely comprises locally eroded sediments that have been shaped by prevailing winds. Other smaller craters in the region also contain these dark deposits. … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Phobos and Jupiter align

Posted on May 13, 2014 by rburnham

Even though it may only be a lump of porous rock, Phobos isn’t shy about hogging the limelight in this sequence taken by ESA’s Mars Express. These three images show Phobos, the larger of the two martian moons, darting across … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Beauty from chaos

Posted on April 10, 2014 by rburnham

Beautiful streamlined islands and narrow gorges were carved by fast-flowing water pounding through a small, plateau region near the southeastern margin of the vast Valles Marineris canyon system. Images captured on 7 December 2013 by ESA’s Mars Express show the … Continue reading →

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HRSC: Daedalia Planum closeup

Posted on March 6, 2014 by rburnham

Close-up view of the two dominant lava flows that reach the foot of the highland terrain (seen at the top of the image in this orientation). The older of the two eruptions produced the smooth lava surface to the south … Continue reading →

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