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Storm Chaser on Mars

March 20, 2012

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Catches a Twister in Action.

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This HiRISE image shows a group of cones, shield-like features, and round mounds.
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This HiRISE image shows a group of cones, shield-like features, and round mounds.
Small Mounds in Chryse Planitia (3-D)
This HiRISE image shows a portion of interior layered deposits (ILD) in Juventae Chasma. Juventae Chasma is a large depression near the equatorial canyon system Valles Marineris.
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This HiRISE image shows a portion of interior layered deposits (ILD) in Juventae Chasma. Juventae Chasma is a large depression near the equatorial canyon system Valles Marineris. The scene is along the top of a mound of layered deposits on the floor of Juventae Chasma. Dunes are seen in the low-lying, darker regions. Very fine layers are also seen (see subimage, approximately 1 km across). Understanding what kinds of materials formed the layers, how they were set in place, and how they have evolved will provide insight into Martian geologic history.
Interior Layered Deposits in Juventae Chasma
This graph shows a spectrum recorded by the Chemistry and Camera instrument (ChemCam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
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This graph shows a spectrum recorded by the Chemistry and Camera instrument (ChemCam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
ChemCam Spectrum from Martian Rock Target 'Ithaca'
These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 19, 2014, during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft.
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These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 19, 2014, during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft.
First Resolved Image of a Long-Period Comet's Nucleus
This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Mars Weather Map, Aug. 2 (Labeled)
This HiRISE image shows diverse layers in a region near Mawrth Vallis, a channel that was probably carved by water in Mars' ancient past. The color subimage shows details of layers exposed in a cra...
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This HiRISE image shows diverse layers in a region near Mawrth Vallis
Diverse Layers and Mineralogy Near Mawrth Vallis (3-D)
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in December 2015, at examples of the Bagnold Dunes.
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This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in December 2015, at examples of the Bagnold Dunes.
Curiosity Rover's Traverse, First 1,185 Sols on Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera, which captured the 110,000 images that make up the interactive global mosaic, is especially useful for spotting impact craters like those seen here.
More
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera, which captured the 110,000 images that make up the interactive global mosaic, is especially useful for spotting impact craters like those seen here.
Global CTX Mosaic of Mars: Impact Craters
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left the "Glenelg" area on July 4, 2013, on a "rapid transit route" to the entry point for the mission's next major destination, the lower layers of Mount Sharp.
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NASA's Mars rover Curiosity left the "Glenelg" area on July 4, 2013, on a "rapid transit route" to the entry point for the mission's next major destination, the lower layers of Mount Sharp.
Curiosity's Progress on Route from 'Glenelg' to Mount Sharp
Nili Patera is a region on Mars in which dunes and ripples are moving rapidly. HiRISE continues to monitor this area every couple of months to see changes over seasonal and annual time scales.
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This image shows, smooth dark dunes, with lighter gray sand in between them.
Dunes and Ripples in Nili Patera
This image shows lava crumpled against the upstream side of an impact crater.
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This image shows lava crumpled against the upstream side of an impact crater.
Lava Against an Impact Crater in Elysium Planitia
Gullies on Martian sand dunes, like these in Matara Crater, have been very active, with many flows in the last ten years. In this image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter frost in and around t...
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Gullies of Matara Crater
Gullies of Matara Crater
This impact crater in south Syrtis Major was captured by the HiRISE instrument on NASA’s MRO. Afterward, CRISM data was layered on top to reveal which minerals were present.
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This impact crater in south Syrtis Major was captured by the HiRISE instrument on NASA’s MRO. Afterward, CRISM data was layered on top to reveal which minerals were present.
Colorful Impact
Phobos in Stereo
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Phobos in Stereo
'Marsshine' on Shadowed Part of Phobos
Cydonia Labyrinthus is a complex of intersecting valleys that form a polygonal fractured terrain.
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Cydonia Labyrinthus is a complex of intersecting valleys that form a polygonal fractured terrain.
Cydonia Labyrinthus (3-D)
This map shows five locations where fresh impact cratering has excavated water ice from just beneath the surface of Mars (sites 1 through 5) and the Viking Lander 2 landing site (VL2), in the conte...
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Expected Depths to Ice, Mid-Latitude Northern Mars
Expected Depths to Ice, Mid-Latitude Northern Mars
This image maps the traverse of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity from "Bradbury Landing" to "Yellowknife Bay," with an inset documenting a change in the ground's thermal properties with arrival at a dif...
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This image maps the traverse of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity from "Bradbury Landing" to "Yellowknife Bay," with an inset documenting a change in the ground's thermal properties with arrival at a different type of terrain.
Curiosity's Traverse into Different Terrain (Sol 121)
The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provides this view of Olympus Mons, the tallest known volcano in the solar system.
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The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter provides this view of Olympus Mons, the tallest known volcano in the solar system.
NASA and Microsoft Provide Mars 3-D Close Encounter
This image shows part of the floor of an impact crater on the northern rim of the giant Hellas Basin.
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This image shows part of the floor of an impact crater on the northern rim of the giant Hellas Basin. Hellas includes the lowest elevations on Mars, and may have once held lakes or seas; layered rock outcrops occur around much of the edge of the basin. At this site, a large impact crater (about 90 kilometers across) was partly filled by layered rocks. These rocks on the crater floor are now eroding and forming strange pits. Here, the layers are mostly exposed on a steep slope which cuts across much of the image. On this slope, they crop out as rocky stripes, some continuous and others not. The material between the stripes is mostly covered by debris, but some areas of exposed rock are visible. The slope is capped by a thick, continuous layer that armors it against erosion; once this cap is gone, the lower material is removed rapidly, forming the steep slope. At the base of this slope, rocks on the floor of the pit appear bright and heavily fragmented by cracks known as joints. The variation in rock types suggests that the rocks here were deposited by multiple processes or in different environments. Sites like this may preserve a record of conditions on early Mars.
Layered Outcrops on Crater Floor
This picture of a heart-shaped feature in Arabia Terra on Mars was taken on May 23, 2010, by the Context Camera (CTX) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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This picture of a heart-shaped feature in Arabia Terra on Mars was taken on May 23, 2010, by the Context Camera (CTX) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Heart-shaped Feature in Arabia Terra (Wide View)
Planum Australe Region
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Planum Australe Region
Planum Australe Region
This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows NASA's Mars rover Curiosity where it landed on Mars within Gale Crater, at a site now called Bradbury Landing. The view was produced from images taken by the...
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This 3D, or stereo anaglyph, view shows NASA's Mars rover Curiosity where it landed on Mars within Gale Crater, at a site now called Bradbury Landing.
Curiosity at Bradbury Landing Site in 3D
By analyzing radar images like the one at top of this montage, scientists discovered evidence for a past ice age in the northern polar ice cap of Mars.
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By analyzing radar images like the one at top of this montage, scientists discovered evidence for a past ice age in the northern polar ice cap of Mars.
Signs of a Martian Ice Age
This series of images shows warm-season features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today.
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This series of images shows warm-season features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today.
Warm-Season Flows on Slope in Newton Crater (Six-Image Sequence)
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Ex...
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NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. With early spring at the Phoenix landing site comes progressive sublimation of carbon-dioxide frost that has blanketed the lander and surrounding terrain throughout the winter. During the long polar-winter night, atmospheric carbon dioxide freezes onto the surface, building up a layer of frost roughly 30 centimeters (about one foot) thick. In the spring this frost returns to atmosphere gas (sublimates) over the course of several months. This image, part of a seasonal frost monitoring sequence, shows some areas of bare ground are beginning to be exposed. However, extensive frost patches remain in the topographic lows, such as the troughs of the local polygonally patterned surface.
Phoenix Lander Amid Disappearing Spring Ice
This HiRISE image shows a group of cones, shield-like features, and round mounds.
More
This HiRISE image shows a group of cones, shield-like features, and round mounds.
Small Mounds in Chryse Planitia (3-D)
This HiRISE image shows a portion of interior layered deposits (ILD) in Juventae Chasma. Juventae Chasma is a large depression near the equatorial canyon system Valles Marineris.
More
This HiRISE image shows a portion of interior layered deposits (ILD) in Juventae Chasma. Juventae Chasma is a large depression near the equatorial canyon system Valles Marineris. The scene is along the top of a mound of layered deposits on the floor of Juventae Chasma. Dunes are seen in the low-lying, darker regions. Very fine layers are also seen (see subimage, approximately 1 km across). Understanding what kinds of materials formed the layers, how they were set in place, and how they have evolved will provide insight into Martian geologic history.
Interior Layered Deposits in Juventae Chasma
This graph shows a spectrum recorded by the Chemistry and Camera instrument (ChemCam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
More
This graph shows a spectrum recorded by the Chemistry and Camera instrument (ChemCam) in NASA's Curiosity Mars rover.
ChemCam Spectrum from Martian Rock Target 'Ithaca'
These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 19, 2014, during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft.
More
These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 19, 2014, during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft.
First Resolved Image of a Long-Period Comet's Nucleus
This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
More
This global map of Mars was acquired on Aug. 2, 2012, by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Mars Weather Map, Aug. 2 (Labeled)
This HiRISE image shows diverse layers in a region near Mawrth Vallis, a channel that was probably carved by water in Mars' ancient past. The color subimage shows details of layers exposed in a cra...
More
This HiRISE image shows diverse layers in a region near Mawrth Vallis
Diverse Layers and Mineralogy Near Mawrth Vallis (3-D)
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in December 2015, at examples of the Bagnold Dunes.
More
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the location where it landed in August 2012 to its location in December 2015, at examples of the Bagnold Dunes.
Curiosity Rover's Traverse, First 1,185 Sols on Mars
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera, which captured the 110,000 images that make up the interactive global mosaic, is especially useful for spotting impact craters like those seen here.
More
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s Context Camera, which captured the 110,000 images that make up the interactive global mosaic, is especially useful for spotting impact craters like those seen here.
Global CTX Mosaic of Mars: Impact Craters

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