NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HIRISE Images February 1, 2012

– The Floor of Toro Crater http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025067_1970

Toro Crater may have experienced hydrothermal alteration, producing diverse minerals.

– Crater with Gullies on a Central Structure http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025082_2295

The formation of channels on the debris aprons supports the hypothesis that these sediments were transported down the gullies and then deposited onto the aprons by flowing water.

– Active Erosion in Pasteur Crater http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025372_2000

This image shows knobs and bluffs that are being actively eroded by the Martian wind.

– Another Well-Preserved Impact Crater http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_025450_1595

When seen at full resolution, almost all craters on Mars show some modification such as subsequent smaller impacts, and downslope movement of material on steep slopes.

All of the HiRISE images are archived here:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

Information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is online at http://www.nasa.gov/mro. The mission is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, of Denver, is the prime contractor and built the spacecraft. HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., of Boulder, Colo., built the HiRISE instrument.