Observation ID PSP_005011_0885

SCIENCE THEME
Polar Geology

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This image of the south polar layered deposits shows far more detail than seen in previous images of this part of Mars. The most complete imaging coverage of the area south of 87 degrees south latitude was acquired by the Mariner 9 and Viking Orbiter spacecraft in the 1970s.

These images showed a shallow scarp at this location, but it was not known whether the dozens of layers visible in this HiRISE image would be exposed. The MGS and Mars Odyssey orbiters could not view the regions near the poles. Such images of the Mars polar "terra incognita" will help scientists understand the geology of the south polar layered deposits, widely believed to record ancient Martian climate changes like ice ages on Earth. For example, this subimage shows possible evidence that horizontal layers have been distorted by folding or flow (2048 x 4000; 8 MB).

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_005019_1970

SCIENCE THEME
Volcanic Processes

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The bottom of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, is marked by a steep scarp. It is likely that this scarp is the result of the deformation and collapse of the volcano under its own weight.

The scarp exposes the internal structure of the volcano, revealing a stack of once deeply buried lava layers. Atop the lava flows is a thick layer of relatively weak and homogeneous material, that might be volcanic ash or dust carried by dust storms. The pit near the center of the image shows that the same basic layering extends for some distance up the flank of the volcano.

The pit must be more recent than the dust/ash layer since the pit cuts through that layer. While it is possible that the pit is very recent, this suggests that the mantling layer is quite old.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_005069_1670

SCIENCE THEME
Tectonic Processes

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This observation shows a portion of the north rim of Corprates Chasma, a large trough that forms the eastern part of the Valles Marineris, a system of canyons stretching for thousands of kilometers.

In this image, several faults are exposed along the surface of the rim. One fault can be seen particularly well centered on the right side of the subimage (1062 x 874; 906 KB).

Multiple layers are also visible on the slopes descending from the edges of the flat topped rim. The layers may have formed from volcanic, lacustrine, and/or aeolian sediments once deposited in the Valles Marineris trough. Particularly prominent is a dark-toned layer near the top of the slope. This layer is composed of materials that are more resistant to erosion than the overlying brighter layers. In HiRISE images, this layer is resolved into a rubbly outcrop of meter-scale boulders.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_005071_2150

SCIENCE THEME
Tectonic Processes

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This image shows a pair of pit craters on Alba Patera, a massive volcano on Mars.

The pit craters are the prominent deep features near the center of the image. Most of the other circular holes are impact craters. Pit craters form when material collapses into a subsurface void (commonly on volcanoes, such as Kilauea in Hawai'i). Voids may form on volcanoes when parts of the "plumbing" system transporting lava are drained, or when extension and stretching of the volcano causes gaps below the surface.

Pit craters may resemble impact craters. However, there is evidence that the two large depressions in this image are pit craters. Impact craters as large and deep as these would likely have a raised rim of material ejected during its formation. Erosion of the rim would partially fill the crater, but these are relatively deep despite having no raised rim. Additionally, these pits are roughly aligned with other depressions outside the image, a likely arrangement for pit craters.

Layers exposed around the edges of these craters are likely old lava flows which covered the surface of the region, breaking up into boulders. The uppermost material has no boulders. This is likely a layer of dust (or possibly volcanic ash) which has draped the entire area, obscuring much detail of the volcanic landscape.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_005082_1700

SCIENCE THEME
Geologic Contacts/Stratigraphy

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PSP_005082_1700 shows an assemblage of interesting terrain contacts located west of Ganges Chasma, a Martian canyon part of the equatorial Valles Marineris system.

The top portion of the image shows mottled plains that are covered in craters. It is possible that the plains are eroding and exposing (“exhuming”) craters that formed long ago and were since buried. A crater that is being uncovered can look like a faint ring, of which many examples are visible here. The edge of the plains is marked by a cliff located approximately halfway down the image. This cliff is the wall of a valley that might have once flowed into the enclosed trough, Ophir Cavus, located directly south of it.

Ophir Cavus is seen to have landslides on both of its walls. It contains dunes and what appears to be a coherent mass of material on its floor that is probably eroding. It also has a series of layers around its rim. These layers probably continue under the surrounding plains.

South of Ophir Cavus, located at the bottom of the image, are plains that have a much different appearance from the plains at the top. These plains have a few craters that might be exhumed, but also several fresher ones. The fresher craters have darker bottoms, implying that the depth to which these craters disturbed the surface corresponds with a darker layer. Some of the dark-bottomed craters have faint dark rays that have not been blown away by the wind; this also verifies that they are relatively recently formed.

The floor of the valley also has a large number of craters, many of which are small. The majority of these craters have a bright tail pointing in the southwest direction (see subimage, approximately 950 meters across; 1928 x 1346; 7 MB). This indicates that the wind was probably blowing from the northeast when these craters formed. Since wind directions change frequently on Mars, it is possible that a large number of the valley’s craters formed at the same time. This suggests that they are secondary craters: craters that form when material thrown out from a bigger impact is moving fast enough to create these craters. Secondary craters commonly form in clumps, also seen in the subimage.

Please note that the vertical stripes seen in the image are camera artifacts. They are not real features.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Release date Sep 11, 2007
Latitude: 21.15 N
Longitude: 74.24 E




The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) took this image of the Nili Fossae region at 0643 UTC (2:43 a.m. EDT) on June 21, 2007, near 21.15 degrees north latitude, 74.24 degrees east longitude. CRISM's image was taken in 544 colors covering 0.36-3.92 micrometers, and shows features as small as 20 meters (66 feet) across. The region covered is just over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) wide at its narrowest point, and is one of several dozen that CRISM has taken to map the minerals at candidate landing sites for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, which will launch in 2010.

The Nili Fossae region is critical to understanding the history of water on Mars and whether water ever formed environments suitable for life, because the region is underlain by a layer of phyllosilicate (clay) minerals. This type of mineralogy formed where water was in contact with Mars' crustal rocks for very long periods, altering the silicates in volcanic rocks. In addition, phyllosilicates can encapsulate and preserve organic chemicals associated with life (if life was present). Its rocky record of an ancient wet environment makes Nili Fossae a top contender among the 30-plus landing sites being considered for MSL, whose objectives include measuring the chemistry preserved in an ancient wet environment.

This series of four different versions of the same 544-color image illustrates the mineral-mapping capability that comes from moving beyond the wavelength range of the human eye, and into infrared wavelengths where minerals leave distinct "fingerprints" in reflected sunlight. At upper left, more than three dozen of the distinct wavelengths measured by CRISM were combined to mimic how the human eye would see the image. The subtle shading comes from the Sun's position high in Mars' sky when the image was taken, creating few shadows. The bland, butterscotch color comes from the dust coating nearly all of the Martian surface to some degree. At upper right, three infrared wavelengths (2.53, 1.50 and 1.08 micrometers) replace the red, green and blue image planes. These wavelengths are less sensitive to dust, and begin to show the spectral variations in the underlying rocks.

The two bottom versions combine different wavelengths to show strength of absorption due to the different minerals that are present, providing indications of the minerals' presence and distribution. The lower left version combines measurements of the strength of iron mineral absorptions at 0.53, 0.86 and 1.0 microns in the red, green and blue image planes. Bluer areas have more pyroxene, a mineral found in volcanic basaltic rock, whereas reddish and especially orange areas have more oxidized iron minerals. The lower right version combines measurements of mineral absorptions at 1.0, 1.9 and 2.3 microns in the red, green and blue image planes. Redder areas are richer in pyroxene, and green and blue areas contain more phyllosilicate minerals. The combination of basaltic rocks and highly altered phyllosilicates in close proximity would allow MSL to make detailed measurements of rocks formed in two distinct environments.

The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the CRISM team includes expertise from universities, government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad.

CRISM's mission: Find the spectral fingerprints of aqueous and hydrothermal deposits and map the geology, composition and stratigraphy of surface features. The instrument will also watch the seasonal variations in Martian dust and ice aerosols, and water content in surface materials — leading to new understanding of the climate.

Credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL

Source: CRISM

Observation ID PSP_003176_1745

SCIENCE THEME
Geologic Contacts/Stratigraphy

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This observation shows a portion of the Gale Crater floor. Gale Crater is approximately 150 kilometers in diameter, located in Elysium Planitia, sitting near the dichotomy boundary between the Martian southern highlands and northern lowlands.

The subimage shows several light-toned layers (952 x 955; 1 MB). The origin of the sediments composing the layers is unknown and could have included deposition in an ancient flood or lake or the deposition of windblown particles such as dust or volcanic ash. The relatively uniform character of the layers and the manner of erosion suggests that the sediments are fine-grained.

The paucity of impact craters indicates that the layered deposits are either very young or that erosion has removed evidence of past cratering. Wind erosion, in particular, has modified the layers creating relatively sharp edges and rounded depressions. In general, the fact that layers are found on isolated mounds indicates that some process has eroded an originally more extensive, layered deposit. Large dunes are also visible in the lower portion of the subimage.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_003948_0935

SCIENCE THEME
Climate Change

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Like Earth, Mars has concentrations of water ice at both poles. Because Mars is so much colder however, carbon dioxide ice is deposited at high latitudes in the winter and is removed in the spring, analogous to winter-time water ice/snow on Earth.

Around the south pole there are areas of this carbon dioxide ice that do not disappear every spring, but rather survive winter after winter; this persistent carbon dioxide ice is called the south pole residual cap. The retention of carbon dioxide ice throughout the year by the southern polar cap is one characteristic that distinguishes it significantly from Mars' north polar cap.

As can be seen in this HiRISE image of the south pole residual cap, relatively high-standing smooth material is broken up by circular, oval, and blob-shaped depressions. This patterned terrain is called "swiss cheese" terrain. The high-standing areas are carbon dioxide ice with thicknesses of several to approximately 10 meters. The depressions are thought to be caused by the removal of this carbon dioxide ice by sublimation (the change of a material from solid directly to gas). As most depressions seem to have relatively flat floors, there is likely some layer below, possibly made of water ice, that cannot be as easily removed by sublimation. Complicated shapes arise when neighboring growing depressions intersect.

A previous Mars imaging system, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), took images of the same places on the south pole residual cap every year for many years, and showed that there are annual changes taking place within it. By looking at different sizes and shapes of depressions in an image such as this, and by comparing images of the same place from year to year, the development of "swiss cheese" terrain can be described. The sublimation process may begin as a small, shallow depression in a smooth surface. This depression then deepens until reaching the resistant layer below, and continues to expand laterally in all directions, creating the generally round depressions we see today. Different heights and thicknesses of smooth areas, and different depths of depressions, may indicate that multiple episodes of accumulation and sublimation have occurred.

This is one of the locations previously monitored at lower resolution by MOC. With the high resolution and repeat-imaging capability of HiRISE, we intend to continue monitoring and better measure the amount of expansion of the depressions over one or more Mars years. This is one of the locations specifically targeted by HiRISE for this purpose.

Knowing the amount and rate of carbon dioxide removal can give us a better idea of the role of carbon dioxide (the main component of the Martian atmosphere) in polar and atmospheric processes, of current environmental and climatic conditions, and of how Mars climate may be changing.

In HiRISE images such as this one, it is evident on the slopes of the large, especially high mesa just above the center of the image that the carbon dioxide-rich material may be constructed of several individual horizontal layers. However, it also appears that as erosion eats into the mesa, pieces of a stronger mesa surface layer break off and are left strewn on the mesa slopes, where they may give the appearance of layering.

An interesting feature in this HiRISE image is the crisscrossing network of faint ridges and troughs on the upper smooth terrain. These may also be complexly involved in the sublimation and deposition of carbon dioxide ice.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_004060_2020

SCIENCE THEME
Volcanic Processes

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This HiRISE image shows several cratered cones near Hephaestus Fossae. The fossae are a network of troughs typically several hundred meters wide; parts of these troughs are visible at the edges of this image. These may be related to regional tectonic activity.

Several origins are possible for the cones. They could be volcanic: volcanic and tectonic activity are often coupled, and the cones bear some resemblance to small volcanoes on Earth called cinder cones. However, there are no obvious lava flows (often associated with cinder cones) in this field of view. The eruption could have been more explosive, producing only small fragments with no flows, but this is not certain.

There are alternate explanations for the cones. Pedestal craters form when material ejected from impact craters armors a layer which erodes elsewhere; this is an unlikely origin for the cones since there is no obvious trace of the ejecta around the cones. Mud volcanism can also produce cratered cones somewhat similar to these morphologically, and this has been suggested at other sites on Mars.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_004085_1420

SCIENCE THEME
Fluvial Processes

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This image shows groups of gullies at different elevations on the same crater wall. Although gullies are common in the mid-latitudes of Mars, they are rarely found to exist at such distinct elevations as seen here.

The mounds on the floor, one of which contains gullies, probably formed during a late stage of crater formation. Both levels of gullies appear to originate at layers. These layers might be ice-rich, or they might be capable of conducting water to the surface.

The gullies visible here are good candidates for formation by subsurface water, as opposed to melting ice or snow originating on the surface. The rounded, theater-shaped alcove and tributary heads (see subimage, approximately 140 meters across; 550 x 1018; 1.6MB) are typical of features formed by groundwater sapping on Earth. Surface runoff does not form this morphology.

This image contains possible evidence of subsurface piping, when soil pores connect to form a "pipe" that transports water. When piping occurs, water carries soil with it, leaving empty space beneath the surface. As this process continues, the overlying surface can no longer support itself, and it collapses to form a depression. Several depressions that could have formed this way are seen in this image (http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/images/2007/details/cut/PSP_004085_1420_cut_b.jpg). The depressions are also directly upslope of more developed alcoves. They also originate at upslope layers, and might be examples of developing alcoves.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_004673_0935

SCIENCE THEME
Climate Change

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Like Earth, Mars has concentrations of water ice at both poles. Because Mars is so much colder however, carbon dioxide ice is deposited at high latitudes in the winter and is removed in the spring, analogous to winter-time water ice/snow on Earth.

Around the south pole there are areas of this carbon dioxide ice that do not disappear every spring, but rather survive winter after winter; this persistent carbon dioxide ice is called the south pole residual cap. The retention of carbon dioxide ice throughout the year by the southern polar cap is one characteristic that distinguishes it significantly from Mars' north polar cap.

As can be seen in this HiRISE image of the south pole residual cap, relatively high-standing smooth material is broken up by circular, oval, and blob-shaped depressions. This patterned terrain is called "swiss cheese" terrain. The high-standing areas are carbon dioxide ice with thicknesses of several to approximately 10 meters. The depressions are thought to be caused by the removal of this carbon dioxide ice by sublimation (the change of a material from solid directly to gas). As most depressions seem to have relatively flat floors, there is likely some layer below, possibly made of water ice, that cannot be as easily removed by sublimation. Complicated shapes arise when neighboring growing depressions intersect.

A previous Mars imaging system, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), took images of the same places on the south pole residual cap every year for many years, and showed that there are annual changes taking place within it. By looking at different sizes and shapes of depressions in an image such as this, and by comparing images of the same place from year to year, the development of "swiss cheese" terrain can be described. The sublimation process may begin as a small, shallow depression in a smooth surface. This depression then deepens until reaching the resistant layer below, and continues to expand laterally in all directions, creating the generally round depressions we see today. Different heights and thicknesses of smooth areas, and different depths of depressions, may indicate that multiple episodes of accumulation and sublimation have occurred.

This is one of the locations previously monitored at lower resolution by MOC. With the high resolution and repeat-imaging capability of HiRISE, we intend to continue monitoring and better measure the amount of expansion of the depressions over one or more Mars years. This is one of the locations specifically targeted by HiRISE for this purpose.

Knowing the amount and rate of carbon dioxide removal can give us a better idea of the role of carbon dioxide (the main component of the Martian atmosphere) in polar and atmospheric processes, of current environmental and climatic conditions, and of how Mars climate may be changing.

In HiRISE images such as this one, it is evident on the slopes of the large, especially high mesa just above the center of the image that the carbon dioxide-rich material may be constructed of several individual horizontal layers. However, it also appears that as erosion eats into the mesa, pieces of a stronger mesa surface layer break off and are left strewn on the mesa slopes, where they may give the appearance of layering.

An interesting feature in this HiRISE image is the crisscrossing network of faint ridges and troughs on the upper smooth terrain. These may also be complexly involved in the sublimation and deposition of carbon dioxide ice.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_004739_0935

SCIENCE THEME
Climate Change

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Like Earth, Mars has concentrations of water ice at both poles. Because Mars is so much colder however, carbon dioxide ice is deposited at high latitudes in the winter and is removed in the spring, analogous to winter-time water ice/snow on Earth.

Around the south pole there are areas of this carbon dioxide ice that do not disappear every spring, but rather survive winter after winter; this persistent carbon dioxide ice is called the south pole residual cap. The retention of carbon dioxide ice throughout the year by the southern polar cap is one characteristic that distinguishes it significantly from Mars' north polar cap.

As can be seen in this HiRISE image of the south pole residual cap, relatively high-standing smooth material is broken up by circular, oval, and blob-shaped depressions. This patterned terrain is called "swiss cheese" terrain. The high-standing areas are carbon dioxide ice with thicknesses of several to approximately 10 meters. The depressions are thought to be caused by the removal of this carbon dioxide ice by sublimation (the change of a material from solid directly to gas). As most depressions seem to have relatively flat floors, there is likely some layer below, possibly made of water ice, that cannot be as easily removed by sublimation. Complicated shapes arise when neighboring growing depressions intersect.

A previous Mars imaging system, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), took images of the same places on the south pole residual cap every year for many years, and showed that there are annual changes taking place within it. By looking at different sizes and shapes of depressions in an image such as this, and by comparing images of the same place from year to year, the development of "swiss cheese" terrain can be described. The sublimation process may begin as a small, shallow depression in a smooth surface. This depression then deepens until reaching the resistant layer below, and continues to expand laterally in all directions, creating the generally round depressions we see today. Different heights and thicknesses of smooth areas, and different depths of depressions, may indicate that multiple episodes of accumulation and sublimation have occurred.

This is one of the locations previously monitored at lower resolution by MOC. With the high resolution and repeat-imaging capability of HiRISE, we intend to continue monitoring and better measure the amount of expansion of the depressions over one or more Mars years. This is one of the locations specifically targeted by HiRISE for this purpose.

Knowing the amount and rate of carbon dioxide removal can give us a better idea of the role of carbon dioxide (the main component of the Martian atmosphere) in polar and atmospheric processes, of current environmental and climatic conditions, and of how Mars climate may be changing.

In HiRISE images such as this one, it is evident on the slopes of the large, especially high mesa just above the center of the image that the carbon dioxide-rich material may be constructed of several individual horizontal layers. However, it also appears that as erosion eats into the mesa, pieces of a stronger mesa surface layer break off and are left strewn on the mesa slopes, where they may give the appearance of layering.

An interesting feature in this HiRISE image is the crisscrossing network of faint ridges and troughs on the upper smooth terrain. These may also be complexly involved in the sublimation and deposition of carbon dioxide ice.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_004742_0990

SCIENCE THEME
Polar Geology

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The polar layered deposits on Mars are thought to be composed of varying amounts of water ice and dust. The variations in the relative amounts of ice and dust are probably caused by recent climate changes on Mars, similar to ice ages on Earth.

This image of the south polar layered deposits shows many layers, some of which are cut off or truncated against other layers (near the center of the image). These truncations are probably due to periods of erosion separating periods of deposition.

After nearly horizontal layers are deposited, they can be partly eroded (perhaps by winds) before more layers are deposited over them. In this image, there is evidence for at least two such episodes of erosion and burial. These types of observations are useful to Mars scientists as they try to unravel the climate history of Mars.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_005149_1715

SCIENCE THEME
Geologic Contacts/Stratigraphy

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Light-toned layering can be seen throughout this image taken along the plains south of Ius Chasma in Valles Marineris.

A portion of one of the troughs of Ius Chasma is visible in the lower right of the image. The layering is exposed where a meters-thick darker unit has been eroded away, suggesting the light-toned layered deposit is more extensive in area than what is visible by exposures along the plains.

The layering could have formed by several processes, including aeolian (wind-blown), fluvial (water-lain), and volcanism. If aeolian, then the material must be located elsewhere on Mars where it was eroded and then subsequently deposited by the wind here along the plains. A fluvial origin implies there was water activity that deposited the light-toned material, although there is no evidence for fluvial activity at this location. Explosive volcanism is a likely process that would have occurred in association with the emplacement of the darker lava flows that make up the plains.

The morphology of the light-toned layering is unlike that seen within Valles Marineris and indicates different processes operated along the plains compared to those that emplaced the deposits within the troughs.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_001374_1805

SCIENCE THEME
Sedimentary/Layering Processes

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This observation features an exhumed crater in Meridiani Planum, an equatorial region where the MER Rover Opportunity has been exploring the Martian surface since January 2004.

An exhumed crater is one that formed a long time ago and was later infilled with materials and buried. Subsequent erosion has caused this crater to become exposed at the surface once again.

The crater interior contains a sequence of layers (see subimage, upslope is to the right, approximately 420 meters across; 1676 x 1344, 6MB) that are remnants of the material that originally filled the crater. The layers were deposited then became cemented as overlying layers pressed them down. The sequence of layers has not eroded evenly because different layer compositions and other factors, such as cementation and chemical alteration, can make certain locations more resistant to erosion.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE

Observation ID PSP_003637_2020

SCIENCE THEME
Fluvial Processes

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Larissa Beckstead's third grade class from Sunridge Elementary School, in Phoenix, Ariz., suggested this target. When tasked with writing a figure caption, the class wrote: "Iberus Vallis looks like it has been carved by water. The shape is curved and looks like a river. The bends in the channel show how the water changed direction like rivers on Earth. The sides of the channel are high so it looks like Iberus Vallis has been there a long time. The less deep channels that branch off the main channel may have been caused by overflow of water. The shape of Iberus Vallis is evident that water was there at one time. Iberus Vallis is in the northeastern hemisphere of Mars. The channel is located on the southeast side of what looks like volcano. It appears to be going down the side of the volcano."

In fact, Iberus Vallis is a valley to the southeast of Elysium Mons, a large volcano in the northern hemisphere. This image is located at 21.5 degrees north and 151.5 degrees East. Within the valley, many large boulders are resolved in the HiRISE image (see subimage; 713 x 591, 1.2MB ). A thick resistant layer is exposed at the top of the wall, as are some thinner resistant layers below.

Three unusual mounds (see subimage; 704 x 584, 1.2MB) are present in the channel. Their origins are unknown, though they could potentially be ice-cored mounds.

Dust fills much of the floor of the valley, and has been moved by the wind to form dunes. Although water at one point carved this valley, it is now dominated by mass wasting (dry landslides) and aeolian (wind-driven) processes.

EDR Products for this observation

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey's ISIS3 software.

Source: HiRISE