NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE Images – May 22, 2013

– Ice in a Chlorite-Bearing Escarpment in Northwest Hellas http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_027758_1530

The image was captured at the beginning of southern spring, at a time period when south-facing escarpments still retain ices deposited during the winter.

– How Did the Mound in Gale Crater Form? http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_030880_1750

Scientists have been wondering about the origin of the central mound in Gale Crater since before Curiosity landed nearby.

– Ridges and a Valley with Flow Fronts http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_031215_1830

In this observation, we see heavily cratered terrain with deposits that record Martian geologic history and stratigraphy.

– Eastern Valles Marineris Bedrock Stratigraphy and Falling Dunes http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/PSP_010277_1650

As with all dunes, wind regime, sediment supply, topography, and climate are all important factors in where dunes form and persist.

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.