NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE Images – December 7, 2011

– Frosty Northern Dunes http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_024265_2535

It is early spring in the Northern hemisphere of Mars, and these barchan dunes are covered with a layer of seasonal carbon dioxide ice.

– Crater Features http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_024473_2205

At HiRISE resolution, we can better see the hollows and pits, along with the shapes of alcoves of gullies that are now filled up.

– Meanders and Tributaries in Ridge Form in the Zephyria Region http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_024484_1750

This was once a river bed that meandered due to changes in topography.

– Interacting Fossae Segments East of Athabasca Valles http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_024576_1900

Understanding the possible volume and flux of water in the ancient past may help in learning how the flood channel formed.

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.