UAHiRISE (NASA MRO)

The outcrops of bedrock in this region of Mars never get tiresome to look at. This observation not only has a bounty of such outcrops, but is also good for imaging when the camera is pointing straight down (called “nadir”). Another science goal is to get a higher resolution look at sedimentary and layering processes that occurred here. There is also lots of dark sand with visible dune crests that look like ripples. Meridiani Planum is just two degrees south of the Martian equator, and is the home of the Opportunity rover. This region also contains the Challenger Memorial Station. This is a non-narrated clip, and the image is less than 5 km across. For images with scale bars and enhanced color, visit the source link. Music: “Redhead from Mars” by Silent Partner (used by permission). https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_056968_1815 NASA/JPL/UArizona #Mars #science

Aram Chaos is a heavily eroded impact crater, and like its name suggests, its main distinguishing feature is “chaotic terrain.” This is the result of various geological processes where ridges, cracks and plains appear to be a jumbled collection of terrain. Instruments such as THEMIS (Mars Odyssey) and CRISM (a spectrometer on MRO) have identified various minerals, including sulfates, jarosite and hematite in this area. It's likely that a lake once existed on the crater floor. This is a non-narrated clip. Image is less than 1 km across, using the enhanced color center swath of the full observation. For full images including scale bars, visit the source link. Music: “Until We Meet Again” by Joe Bagale (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_016605_1830 #Mars #science

This image shows part of a banded lineation that is also visible in a Context Camera observation. The lineation has attributes reminiscent of some of the lineations on Europa. In this area, the lineation cuts across many other, older landforms. This is most likely not a fault, but how it formed and retained its fairly unbroken length, remains unknown. This is a non-narrated clip. Image is less than 5 km across and is under 10 km in length. For full images including scale bars, visit the source link. Music: “Beyond” by Patrick Patrikios (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_021515_2000 #Mars #science

A wonderful observation showing inverted channels, craters and fractures. The material that can form inverted channels tends to be more resistant to erosion than the surrounding terrain, and there might also be evidence of hydrothermal alteration here. Meridiani Planum, a region where the rover Opportunity explored, is located in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars, adjacent to Arabia Terra. This clip features the center enhanced color swath, here about 1 km top to bottom, and north is to the right. This is a non-narrated clip. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Music: “Decline” by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1300016 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_017870_1815 #Mars #science

In addition to the long and wavy ridge in this observation, there are scores of gorgeous outcrops of bedrock running throughout the image. There are approximately 150 of these sinuous ridges in the region, many with different morphologies and contexts. These types of formations are often interpreted as being inverted fluvial channels. Could some of the ridges have formed through overland aqueous flow? This image is located in the Aeolis and Zephyria regions of Mars, in the Northern Hemisphere. This is a non-narrated clip. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Music: “Daydream Bliss” by SYBS (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_016282_1750 #Mars #science

The sun is rising in Mars’ Northern Hemisphere, and spring activity is starting as the seasonal polar cap begins to sublimate (going from ice directly to gas). A layer of dry ice covers the sand dunes in this image. Black and white image is less than 5 km (3 mi) across; enhanced color is less than 1 km (.62 mi). For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs https://uahirise.org/ESP_067558_2535 NASA/JPL/UArizona #Mars #science

We’ve monitored the so-called Happy Face Crater in the south polar region of Mars for almost a decade. Two images that we took, one in 2011 and the other in 2020, at roughly the same season, show color variations that are due to different amounts of bright frost over darker red ground. Black and white is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs https://uahirise.org/ESP_067414_0945 NASA/JPL/UArizona #Mars #science

This crater in Xanthe Terra is filled with material deposited by wind or water after the crater formed. The material later fractured into discrete flat blocks. Image is less than 5 km (3 mi) across. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_067045_1775 NASA/JPL/UArizona #Mars #science

An isolated, elongated mound (about 1 mile wide and 3.75 miles long) rises above the smooth, surrounding plains. Horizontal layers are exposed at the northern end of the mound, and its surface is characterized by a very unusual quasi-circular pattern with varying colors that likely reflect diverse mineral compositions. Black and white is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full images including scale bars, please visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs https://uahirise.org/ESP_066622_2000 NASA/JPL/UArizona #Mars #science

This observation is located within in a massive impact crater in Noachis Terra (Land of Noah), and our primary interest are the linear ridges and windblown bedforms on the floor. The strong linearity of the ridges suggest tectonic processes, and the small-scale topography might help us understand them better. Noachis Terra is an extensive landmass in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars. This is a non-narrated clip. Image is less than 5 km across and is 256 km above the surface. For images with scale bars, visit the below link. Music: “Staring at the Valley” by Silent Partner (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_016182_1560 #Mars #science

These beautiful patterns are likely caused by the contraction and expansion of underground ice. Noachis Terra is an extensive landmass in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars, to the west of the massive Hellas impact basin. This a non-narrated clip. The image is less than 5 km across and is 250 km (155 mi) above the surface. North is down. For images with scale bars, visit the below link. Music: “Two Faces” by Causmic (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_056928_1065 #Mars #science

Our rationale for this image is take a current look at the terrain now to detect for future changes in the topography of this gorgeous sea of dunes. This picture is of the enhanced color center swath, located in the north polar region of Mars known as Vastitas Borealis, the wastelands of the north. This is a non-narrated clip with ambient sound added. Image is less than 1 km across. For full map-projected images including scale bars, visit the below link. NASA/JPL/UArizona uahirise.org/ESP_062970_2550 #Mars #science

The soil surface on Mars is believed to contain water ice, especially at higher latitudes. With the changing seasons, alternate cooling and warming causes the ice-cemented soil to contract and expand. Black and white is less than 5 km across; enhanced image is less than 1 km across. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs NASA/JPL/UArizona https://uahirise.org/ESP_066782_1110 #Mars #science

This HiRISE image shows a deposit draping the surface like a blanket. The deposit is eroding away, and near the center of the image we can see a section that is bright blue in enhanced color, although the true color is likely reddish. Black and white image is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs NASA/JPL/UArizona https://uahirise.org/ESP_066552_1215

Several craters in Arabia Terra are filled with layered rock, often exposed in rounded mounds. The bright layers are roughly the same thickness, giving a stair-step appearance. Black and white is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_066476_1890 #Mars #science

Meteorites hit Mars and create small craters like the one we’ve imaged here. Usually we spot these new craters in lower-resolution images from the Context Camera because the impact disturbs dust on the surface and creates a dark mark that’s much bigger than the crater. Black and white image is less than 5 km across; enhanced color image is less than 1 km. For full images including scale bars, visit the below link. Narration: Tre Gibbs NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_065703_1900

This observation gives us a large and superb exposure of phyllosilicates in northwest Hellas. Silicates form a large group of minerals that includes, among others, micas, smectites, and kaolinites. The existence of phyllosilicates (also called “sheet silica” on Mars goes back to analyses done by the Viking Lander. On Earth, silicates comprise about 90 percent of rock mineral composition. Pay attention to the bright, blueish rocky outcrops. For additional info, see: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2015-377 The word “silica” derives from Latin “silex”, meaning flint or hard stone. This is a non-narrated clip, using the center enhanced color swath and north is to the right. For full images including scale bars, please visit the below link. Music: “Worse” by The Tower of Light (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_013728_1555

As rivers age they can meander and occasionally these meanders get so pronounced that the river cuts off these curving loops at their narrow end leaving them as isolated oxbow lakes. Narration: Tre Gibbs Black and white image is less than 5 km across. For full images including scale bars, please visit the below link. NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_029054_2165 #Mars #science

The rationale for this observation was for seasonal dune and frost monitoring. But this veritable sea of beautiful dunes seems to be reason enough. Lomonosov is approximately 150 kilometers in diameter, and is located in the Martian northern plains. It’s possible that the impact that created the crater might have been responsible for creating tsunami waves from an ancient ocean. This is a non-narrated clip. Image is less than 5 km (or 3 mi) across. For full images including scale bars, please see the below link. Music: “Resolver” by Amulets (used by permission). NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_066898_2450 #Mars #science

In this image, we can see a small notch in a crater rim with a well-formed channel. Lava appears to have flowed through this notch and filled in this approximately 10-kilometer diameter crater. Obtaining another image of the same area at a different angle (what we then call a "stereo pair") can help us see this terrain in three dimensions and answer some questions about what happened here, e.g., is the high-lava mark consistent with the lava overtopping the exterior? Did the crater fill to the level of the lava outside? Narration: Tre Gibbs Black and white image is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full images including scale bars, please see the below link. NASA/JPL/UArizona https://www.uahirise.org/ESP_029072_2040 #Mars #science