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Mars like you've never seen it
A NASA spacecraft has been beaming to Earth incredibly detailed pictures of the surface of Mars. And the beautiful colors and rich textures of the red planet will shock you.
- This observation was taken as part of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) "color image campaign" at Eberswalde Crater. MSL, also known as "Curiosity," is set to launch in November 2011. Another reason for this observation was to complement CRISM color images at HiRISE resolution. CRISM has detected phyllosilicates (clays) in the region. Clays on Earth are often formed in the presence of water and occur in river deltas and lake beds. On Mars, could this be evidence for past water activity?read moreNASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- Dark dunes and sand streaks are the highlights of this observation, all confined inside this valley. In such a complex topographic environment, winds could be funneled above the threshold for sand movement. New images of the area can tell us more about the extent of aeolian activity here.read moreNASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- Crystalline gray hematite (Fe2O3) was first detected on Mars using the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES). The landing site for the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity was chosen at one of these hematite sites in Meridiani Planum. After landing and driving around on the surface, scientists discovered that the hematite occurred in millimeter-size rounded particles that were concentrated along the upper surfaces of the soils. In this HiRISE image taken within Capri Chasma, TES also detected the same crystalline gray hematite like that found at Meridiani Planum. The enhanced-color image shows a red surface, consistent with a material that contains the element iron. The plains here are similar to those seen at Meridiani Planum and suggest that hematite-rich particles are concentrating on the upper soils where they can be detected from orbit by TES.read moreNASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- Surf's up? It may look like a great time to grab your surf board on the West Coast, but that's actually dark sand covering bright bedrock in the Terra Meridiani region of Mars. It's likely the basaltic sand formed from the breakup of volcanic rock.read moreImage: NASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- This image shows dark sand dunes in Chasma Boreale, a giant trough that cuts into the north polar ice cap for 570 kilometers (350 miles) forming a broad valley bordered by stacked layers of ice. These dark dunes are barchan dunes also commonly found on Earth -- crescent-shaped with a steep slip face bordered by horns oriented downwind. Barchan dunes form by uni-directional winds and thus are good indicators of the dominant wind direction.read moreNASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- The dune field in the northeast portion of Russell Crater is roughly 30 kilometers long, and appears to have formed from windblown material trapped by the local topography. This image was taken during the southern hemisphere's deep winter, where temperatures are low enough to allow the carbon dioxide frost to be stable. The frost is apparent primarily on the slopes that do not experience full sunlight.read moreNASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- In the winter, these dunes in an unnamed crater east of Proctor Crater are covered with seasonal carbon dioxide frost (dry ice). In the spring, the frost gradually evaporates but lingers in protected regions. In this color image bright ice deposits in sheltered areas highlight the ripples on the dunes.read moreNASA/JPL/University of ArizonaShare
- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this picture, which is quite the optical illusion: What appears to be trees rising from the Martian surface are actually dark streaks of collapsed material running down sand dunes due to carbon dioxide frost evaporation.read moreNASA/JPL/University of Arizona.Share
- Published22 Images
Mars like you've never seen it
A NASA spacecraft has been beaming to Earth incredibly detailed pictures of the surface of Mars. And the beautiful colors and rich textures of the red planet will shock you.
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- Mars like you've never seen it
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