Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
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PIA11230.jpgDust Storm in the North Polar Regions53 visiteCaption NASA:"This is an image of Mars taken from orbit by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Mars Color Imager (MARCI). The Red Planet's Polar Ice-Cap is in the middle of the image. Captured in this image is a 37.000 square-kilometer (almost 23.000 miles) Dust Storm that moved counter-clockwise through the Phoenix Landing Site on Oct 11, 2008, or Sol 135 of the Mission.
Viewing this image as if it were the face of a clock, Phoenix is shown as a small white dot, located at about 10 AM. The storm, which had already passed over the Landing Site earlier in the day, is located at about 9:30 AM".MareKromium
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PIA11377.jpgMartian "Opal" (natural colors; credits: Lunexit)64 visiteNASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed Martian rocks containing a hydrated mineral similar to Opal.
The rocks are light-toned and appear cream-colored in this natural-color image taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. Images acquired by the orbiter reveal that different layers of rock have different properties and chemistry.
The Opal minerals are located in distinct beds of rock outside of the large Valles Marineris Canyon System and are also found in rocks within the canyon. The presence of opal in these relatively young rocks tells scientists that water, possibly as rivers and small ponds, interacted with the surface as recently as two billion years ago, one billion years later than scientists had expected.
The discovery of this new category of minerals spread across large regions of Mars suggests that liquid water played an important role in shaping the Planet's Surface and possibly hosting life. MareKromium
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PIA11809.jpgColumnar Jointing (Natural Colors; credits for the additional process. and color.: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunar Explorer Italia)55 visiteThis image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows an exposure of layered rock that exhibits a type of fracturing - called Columnar Jointing - that results when cooling lava contracts.
The observation is cited in a report, "Discovery of Columnar Jointing on Mars", publisged in the February 2009 issue of the journal Geology. The Authors propose that flooding by water was likely what caused a quick cooling of lava to result in this jointing.
The image, taken Oct. 31, 2007, shows a portion of an Unnamed Crater about 16 Km (such as approx. 10 miles) in diameter and centered at 21,52° North Latitude and 184,35° East Long.
Shown here is a section about 1 Km (0,6 mile) wide from the image catalogued by the HiRISE team as PSP_005917_2020. The column-forming fractures resemble textures common on Earth in locations such as the Colombia River Basalt Group and in the Colorado Plateau.MareKromium
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PIA12194.jpgGullies at the Edge of Hale Crater (Natural Colors; credits: NASA/JPL/Univ. of Arizona)55 visiteThis image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows Gullies near the edge of Hale Crater on Southern Mars. The view covers an area about 1 Km (0,6 miles) across and was taken on Aug. 3, 2009.
Martian Gullies carved into hill slopes and the walls of impact craters were discovered several years ago. Scientists are excited to study these features because, on Earth, they usually form through the action of liquid water -- long thought to be absent on the Martian Surface. Whether liquid water carves gullies under today's cold and dry conditions on Mars is a major question that planetary scientists are trying to answer.
The Gullies pictured here are examples of what a typical Martian Gully looks like. You can see wide V-shaped channels running downhill (from top to bottom) where the material that carved the gully flowed. At the bottom of the channel this material empties out onto a fan-shaped mound. The fans from each gully overlap one other in complicated ways. At the tops of the channels, large amphitheater-shaped alcoves are carved in the rock. The material removed from these alcoves likely flowed downhill to the aprons through the Gullies.
The terrain in this image is at 36,5° South Latitude and 322,7° East Longitude.
Gullies at this site are especially interesting because scientists recently discovered actively changing examples at similar locations. Images separated by several years showed changes in the appearance of some of these Gullies. Today, planetary scientists are using the HiRISE camera to examine Gullies such as the one in this image for change that might provide a clue about whether liquid water occurs on the Surface of Mars.
Full-frame images, catalogued as ESP_014153_1430, are at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_014153_1430.
The image was taken at 2:21 p.m. Local Mars Time, with the sun 54° above the horizon (S.I.A. = 36°).
The season was Summer in the Southern Hemisphere of Mars.MareKromium
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PIA12200.jpgRadar Mapping of Icy Layers Under Mars' North Pole54 visiteThis composite graphic illustrates the use of the Shallow Radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for mapping underground ice-rich layers of the North Polar Layered Deposits existing on the North Pole of Mars.
The picture on top of the image-composite, is a radargram from the instrument, showing a cross-section of Mars' North Polar Cap, based on time lags of radio-wave echoes returning from different layers.
The penetrating radar reveals icy layered deposits overlying a basal unit in some areas.
The vertical dimension in the cross section is exaggerated one-hundred-fold compared with the horizontal dimension. The vertical scale bar is one kilometer (3281 feet).
The horizontal scale bar is 100 Km (62 miles).
The Shallow Radar instrument was provided by the Italian Space Agency. Its operations are led by the University of Rome and its data are analyzed by a joint U.S.-Italian science team. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.
MareKromium
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PIA12882.jpgNorthern Meridiani Planum (Natural Colors; credits: Dr Paolo C. Fienga - Lunexit Team)55 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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PIA23513-1000w.jpgFlying over Olympus & Friends...158 visitenessun commentoMareKromium
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PIA23513-2.jpgFlying over Olympus & Friends... (EDM)201 visiteHo fatto un minimo di processing addizionale, magnificando ed esaltando contrasti e contorni. Immagine comunque splendida!MareKromium
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PIA23513-4.jpgFlying over Olympus & Friends... (S-EDM)202 visiteDust Storm? Smoke from a volcanic vent? That's the best we can offer you so far.... Then, You decide.MareKromium
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PSP-20081120_spirit.jpgSpirit from orbit54 visiteThe solar system's most celebrated team of off-planet drivers cheered when they heard the news. Spirit had phoned home from Mars, ending four days of silence. The team had kept the rover safe, with help from a friend named "Marci."
Spirit had survived a fierce and sudden dust storm that had driven solar power to all-time lows. Without being able to notify Earth, Spirit had followed instructions the team sent to protect the rover.
The team had received warning from scientists who keep tabs on Martian weather with MARCI -- short for Mars Color Imager. From orbit, the instrument showed thick, swirling dust clouds advancing from the west. Engineers responded with instructions to conserve energy. They told Spirit to turn off a heater and do only two things each day -- check battery power and dust in the atmosphere.
As directed, Spirit contacted Earth on Nov. 13, 2008. MareKromium
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PSP-P14_006600_1881_XI_08N102W_071223sub_large.jpgUnusually-shaped Landform in Tharsis (MULTISPECTRUM; credits: Lunexit)77 visiteThis picture of a Landform (...) was acquired nearly two months ago by the CTX on 23 December 2007.
The Landform is about 1 Km (0,62 miles) across. The feature is located among lava flows South-East of the giant Tharsis volcano, Ascraeus Mons.
This picture is a sub-frame of CTX image P14_006600_1881_XI_08N102W_071223 and is located near 8,3° North Lat. and 101,9° West Long.MareKromium
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PSP_001331_2260andPSP_001872_2260-MidNorthernLatitudeScallopedTerrain.jpgScalloped Terrain (Hi-def-3D - possible True Colors; credits: Dr M. Faccin & Lunar Explorer Italia)80 visiteLatitude (centered): 45,6° North
Longitude (East): 93,7°
Range to target site: 298,4 Km (approx. 186,5 miles)
Original image scale range: 29,9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~90 cm across are resolved
Map projected scale: 25 cm/pixel and North is up
Map projection: EQUIRECTANGULAR
M.L.T.: 15:19 (early afternoon)
Emission angle: 0,4°
Phase angle: 49,4°
Solar Incidence Angle: 49°, with the Sun about 41 ° above the Local Horizon
Solar Longitude: 132,2° (Northern Summer)MareKromium
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