NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE Images: March 12, 2014

– Ejecta in Excess http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_034941_2130

When impact craters are formed, the material that once resided in the subsurface is blown upward and outward creating what’s called an “ejecta blanket.”

– Craters within Craters http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_034942_1615

Because the material is still brighter than the surrounding surface, darker dust settling out of the atmosphere has not had time to cover it up, so this crater is fairly recent.

– A Complex Valley Network Near Idaeus Fossae http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_034948_2165

Many valleys occur all over Mars that reveal an extensive ancient history of liquid water erosion.

– Dramatic Dune Destination http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_035143_1325

The especially bright patches are due to seasonal frost that is accumulating as this hemisphere approaches winter.

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.