Exploring Mars
Rock formation in Gale Crater, Mars
Tilted and broken blocks of rock
seen by Curiosity during its drive to Glenelg.
This color mosaic of nine Mastcam 100 mm images shows an interesting rock formation seen by Curiosity on Sol 39 (September 15, 2012) during its drive to Glenelg.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems/Mosaic by astroarts.org
off
Landslide in Valles Marineris
Landslide at the 5 km high south wall
of Ganges Chasma.
Although Valles Marineris originated as a tectonic structure, it has been modified by other processes. This image shows a close-up view of a landslide at the 5 km high south wall of Ganges Chasma.
The unnamed impact crater on the plateau, which is a part of Aurorae Planum, is approximately 27 km in diameter. The floor of the crater is smooth and flat, so it seems likely that the interior of this crater has been partly filled with basalts or with sand and dust blown by wind. The landslide partially removed the rim of the crater.
The debris apron appears to have formed by collapse of the slump blocks at the base of the wall and extends about 40 kilometers across the floor of Ganges Chasma.
The landslides in Valles Marineris generally show few meteorite impact craters, and so are quite young; they probably formed in the Amazonian Epoch of Mars’ history, some 1.8 billion years ago.
Viking 1 Orbiter image f014a30, taken on July 4, 1976.
The image covers a length of approximately 60 kilometers.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University/astroarts.org
off
Color mosaic of Olympus Mons
Color mosaic of the Martian Olympus Mons volcano
and its surrounding plains.
Mosaic of the Martian Olympus Mons volcano and its surrounding plains made from two color composites using the following Viking 1 Orbiter images:
f735a41 and f735a42 (violet), f735a45 and f735a46 (green), f735a47 and f735a48 (red).
These images were taken on June 22, 1978.
The mosaic covers an area of nearly 1,600 x 800 kilometers. North is right and west is up.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University/Mosaic by astroarts.org
off
Rocky Horizon
Mars rocky horizon by Viking 2.
Two high-resolution images (22a005.bb2 and 22a011.bb3) by the Viking 2 Lander camera 2 were mosaiced to create this scene of Utopia Planitia looking northeast to the horizon some three kilometers away. The rock in the lower right corner is 25 centimeters across. The largest rock near the center of the picture is about 60 centimeters long and 30 centimeters high. A small channel winds from upper left to lower right. The tilted horizon is due to the eight-degree tilt of the landed spacecraft.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Mosaic by astroarts.org
off
Argyre Basin
Oblique view of the Argyre Basin.
This is a mosaic of the Viking 1 Orbiter images f022a94 (taken on July 12, 1976), f034a11 to 16 and f034a34 (taken on July 24, 1976), and f040a04 (taken on July 30, 1976) and shows the Argyre impact basin in the southern highlands of Mars.
The basin, which is approximately 1,300 kilometers in diameter, was formed about 4 billion years ago during the Heavy Bombardment Period of the early Solar System when an asteroid or comet roughly 50 kilometers across impacted Mars.
Argyre is believed to be the second-largest impact basin on Mars after Hellas Planitia and may be one of the best preserved ancient impact basins from the Heavy Bombardment Period.
Argyre is surrounded by rugged massifs which form concentric and radial patterns around the basin. Several mountain ranges are present, including Charitum and Nereidum Montes.
The 230 km wide Galle Crater, located on the eastern rim of Argyre, strongly resembles a smiley face.
Above the horizon are detached layers of haze 25 to 40 km high, thought to be crystals of carbon dioxide.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University/Mosaic by astroarts.org
off