Mars Travel: HRSC

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Nearly 90% of Mars Mapped by Mars Express

Earlier this month the the ESA made an astounding revelation: their Mars Express Orbiter's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has successfully mapped nearly 90% of Mars' surface! Thus far 87.8% of the surface has been imaged, with 61.5% being imaged at a resolution of 20m per pixel or better. Mars Express was launched just ten years ago this June, making this feat even more remarkable.

The below map is a mosaic of 2702 individual images showing the entire Martian globe. The latest image was taken on the orbiter's 10,821st orbit of Mars, which took place on 20 June 2012 orbit. This map does not include areas that were particularly affected by dust and/or atmospheric distortions; these areas are shown in black.

Click to see the ESA's caption for this photo. From there you can download the high resolution version.

The slight change in color tones is primarily due to changes in Mars Express' solar elevation, but can also be attributed to variations in dust content in different parts of the atmosphere. I encourage you to go to the ESA's website (just click the above image) and download their high resolution version! Once you do that, try and find some of the more prominent features on Mars, like Olympus Mons (top left) and the Tharsis Trio (below Olympus Mons and to the right), or Valles Marineris (further right of the Tharsis Trio).

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Frost in Argyre Basin on Mars

Just like on Earth, a frost can develop on Mars. What you see below is a swath of land within the 1800km wide, 5km deep Argyre Basin, which was created from an enormous impact in the early part of Mars' history. The prominent crater partially captured in this image from Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera is the 138km wide Hooke Crater.

Click to see original high resolution image from Mars Express. [See their article]

The frost you see in this image is actually carbon dioxide ice, which scientists believe only forms at ground level when it freezes out of the atmosphere. The reason why only the frost is only abundant in the southern (left) lowlands of this image is because of the angle of the sun at the time this image was taken. This image was taken at 1630 local time on Mars, when the Sun was at a 20 degrees above the horizon. It only had enough time to melt the frost off the north facing crater walls, but wasn't yet able to melt any in the low lying area to the south.

Understanding when and for how long frost can cover the surface of Mars will save future explorers from facing potential surprises! Imagine waking up in your space capsule only to look out the window and see the ground covered in ice!

Mars Photo of the Day - 29 Aug 2012

Today's Image of Mars is a perspective view of Sigli and Shambe craters in Ladon Valles, taken by Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera. Scientists believe these two connected craters, called a doublet crater, were formed by the same projectile, which broke apart just before impact. Sometime following the impacts the craters were partially filled with sediments

The ejecta pattern indicates the presence of subsurface ice at the time the impact occurred. The heat from the impact melted the subsurface ice, and the ice that didn't sublimate was thrown out with the rock ejecta.

The fractures you see in the two craters were most likely created by sedimentary compaction and the subsequent dry spell that has been gripping Mars for the last couple billion years.

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image. [See the ESA's associated article]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Apr 6 2012

Today's Image of Mars comes from Mars Express and shows some pit-chains near the bottom of one of the largest volcanoes in the solar system, Alba Mons. These pits are indicative of lava tubes below the surface, that form in volcanic regions where lava flows solidify near the surface, but continue flowing underneath. When the lava ceases flowing the caverns are left empty and sometimes the roof of the caverns will collapse, leaving the pits you see below. Lava pits like these are prime targets in the search for life on Mars.

One of the reasons scientists believe they have not yet detected any life on the surface is that the radiation levels are 250 times that experienced on the surface of Earth. This would be enough to kill most forms of life as we know it. What makes the lava tubes such a great target is that they are underground and shielded from much of the radiation that hits the surface. They have also been heated by the volcanic activity in the region and have likely experienced period when they were immersed in water, two key factors for life as we know it.

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image from Mars Express. [See their article on these collapse pits]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Apr 2 2012

Today's Image of Mars comes from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard the Mars Express Orbiter and shows the Eumenides Dorsum mountains, which cover an area of 12,000 square kilometers. The mountains are to the west of the Tharsis Quadrangle and form part of the Medusa Fossae region, which scientists believe is covered by a blanket of volcanic ash.

The region is full of features carved into layers of sedimentary rock by wind erosion. The smooth area in the center of this image is a result of that terrain being more resistant to erosion than the surrounding area. This indicates that the surface of that area is made up of volcanic rock, as opposed to more easily eroded sedimentary rock.

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image from Mars Express. [See their article on the Eumenides Dorsum mountains]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Mar 12 2012

Today's Images of Mars show the largest Martian moon, Phobos making a rare transit past Jupiter in the night sky. Mars Express' high resolution stereo camera (HRSC) performed a special maneuver on June 1 2011 to capture the rare alignment, ensuring that it focused on Jupiter during the Phobo's transit.

Knowing the precise moment that Phobos passed in front of Jupiter, scientists will be able to improve their knowledge about the orbit of Mars' largest moon. Clicking on this image will take you to the Mars Express article on the transit.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Mar 11 2012

Today's Image of Mars is a perspective view of Echus Chasma as taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard Mars Express. Located in Lunae Planum and measuring 100km long and 10km wide, Echus Chasma is one of the largest sources of water on Mars.

The 4000m deep trough is thought to be the source for water that carved Kasei Valles, a 1780 km (1100 mi) long set of flood carved channels on Mars.

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image from Mars Express. [See their article on Echus Chasma]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Feb 18 2012

Today's Image of Mars shows Echus Chasma, which was once one of the largest sources of water on Mars, spanning 100km long and 10km wide and cutting into Lunae Planum north of Valles Marineris. Echus Chasma was the source of water that carved Kasei Valles, a 1780 km (1100 mi) long set of flood carved channels on Mars.

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution from the ESA's Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). [See their extensive information on the image and others like it]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Jan 20 2012

Today's Image of Mars is a north-looking perspective view of Juventae Chasma, a large fissure that cuts 5000m into Lunae Planum on Mars and measures 180km east-west and 250km north-south.

Juventae Chasma obvious interaction with water led NASA to consider it as a candidate destination for Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity. Though it was not selected to be the MSL landing spot, there is still much to be learned from the chasm.

Scientists believe that sometime 3-4 billion years ago Juventae Chasma was filled with water, which then created the large deposits of clays, gypsum, and other sulfate minerals we see today. They have speculated that Juventae once had a habitat that was suitable to life, which keeps it on the list of potential landing sites for future missions to Mars.

How did Juventae Chasma form?

Scientists speculate that Juventae Chasm formed as a result of faulting and volcanic heat opening up cracks in the surface, which then let water and subsurface ice out, causing the surface to collapse from the floods that resulted. There was enough water that it poured out of the northern end and created the outflow channel, Maja Valles, which flows all the way to the Chryse impact basin.

Eventually Juventae Chasma stopped growing, but the water within the canyon altered the rocks and surface materials, turning them into the gypsum and other aqueous material we see today.

The ridge you see in the northeast of Juventae Chasma's valley measures 59km long, 23km wide, and 2500m high, making it half as high as the chasm's walls.. This mountain became of interest to scientists when they determined that it was composed of sulfate deposits.

On the top part of the ridge, Mars Express' OMEGA instrument detected gypsum, with 12 distinct layers present. Below the gypsum layers lies kieserite, a form of magnesium sulfate. Both gypsum and kieserite are classified as evaporates, meaning that they often form where lakes of salty water dry up.

The potential landing site for future missions to Mars lies on the southern tip of this ridge. Any rover would then likely move along the western side of the ridge where there are numerous layered deposits that could provide answers as to whether Mars ever sustained life.

This image was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard Mars Express. Clicking on the image will take you to the original high resolution image from them.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Jan 2 2012

Today's Image of Mars shows part of the boundary between Melas Chasma (on the left) and the surrounding terrain. Melas Chasma is part of the Valles Marineris rift valley, which spans more than 4000km across the surface of Mars.

Melas Chasma sinks 9km below the surface of the surrounding terrain, giving it the distinction of being one of the lowest depressions on Mars. This image only covers 20,000 sq km, which the ESA mentions is about the size of Slovenia.

This image helps scientists see different layered deposits along the boundary wall, which gives them insight into the conditions on Mars in the distant past when the deposits were made. This is most helpful for the area surrounding Melas Chasma because there is abundant evidence that the Valles Marineris region was once had an abundance of flowing water, as evidenced by water cut channels and lighter-colored sulfates likely deposited by a former lake.

This image was taken by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on July 1 2006. Clicking on the image will take you to the hi-res version from the ESA. [See the original article from the ESA on Melas Chasma]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Jan 1 2012

Today's Image of Mars shows the Phlegra Montes mountain range in a region that radar probing has indicated is full of subsurface water ice. It is thought that a manned mission to Mars could use this as water.

Phlegra Montes is a mountain range on Mars that extends from the northeastern Elysium volcanic province to the northern lowlands. Unlike the mountains in the Tharsis region of Mars, these ones are likely not volcanic in origin, but rather were formed by ancient tectonic forces that pushed different areas of the surface together.

Examination of this region shows that almost every mountain is surrounded by by a 'lobate debris apron,' or curved features that generally surround mountains and plateaus at these altitudes. (ESA) These lobate features appear to have moved down the mountain slopes over time, similar to terrestial glacial features. This conclusion has been affirmed by radar from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The radar suggests that water ice could be as close as 20m to the surface.

Scientists speculate that these mid latitude glaciers formed a few hundred million years ago when the polar axis of Mars was much different than it was today and the climactic conditions were much different.

This image was taken by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Clicking on this image will take you to the hi-res version of this image. [See the original Phlegra Montes article from the ESA]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Dec 31 2011

Today's Image of Mars shows Orcus Patera, one of the strangest craters ever imaged on Mars. Orcus Patera is 380km long and 140km wide and lies between Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons. The rim of the crater rises 1800m above the surrounding terrain, while the floor of the depression lies 400-600m below the surrounding terrain. That means the crater rim rise 2200-2400m above the crater floor. While scientists are still unsure of how this strange crater was formed they do have some very good guesses:

The crater was most likely formed by a meteor that struck the surface at a very shallow angle. The best way to imagine this is to imagine the meteor hitting the ground like a plane landing, except the meteor doesn't have wheels so it slides across the surface until friction brings it to a halt.
Another suggestion is that the crater was originally rounder, but due to erosion and gravity the side of the crater collapsed in on each other and filled in everything but what we see now.
This crater could actually be the result of two or three adjacent craters where the adjoining rooms have eroded away.

Though I'm not a professional I think the crater was formed relatively recently when a meteor struck the surface at a shallow angle. One reason we can surmise this is because the floor of the crater has less smaller impact craters checkering it than the surrounding terrain. From that we can infer that the crater is from a relatively recent impact. We can also tell by the shape of the depression. When a meteorite hits it begins disintegrating because it is impacting as such high speeds. At such a shallow angle the meteorite would get smaller as it slid across the ground, thus the shape we see below.

While it could have been one big crater that got compressed down to size, I've noticed from showcasing a lot of craters on this site that a lot of them develop a central mound. If this one larger crater, then what happened to the central mound? [For an example of a central mound just look at the crater on the bottom left of this image.]

This crater could be a merger of two recent craters, but if there was enough wind erosion to remove all signs of an adjoining crater wall there would probably also be enough wind to erode a lot of the smaller surrounding craters.

EDIT: A reader pointed out the blue in Orcus Patera's central crater and both of us wanted to know what it was so I asked the European Space Agency's Mars Express Science Team (ESA) and they posted an answer to their website! [See their answer]

This image was taken by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera. Clicking on this image will take you to the hi-res, zoomable image from the ESA. [See the original ESA article on Orcus Patera]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Dec 5 2011

Today's Image of the Day is of an unnamed crater on Mars with water ice in it. The crater is located in Vastitas Borealis, a broad plain which covers much of Mars' northern latitudes.

This crater is 35km in diameter and approximately 2km deep. The ice in this crater is present all year round because the temperatures at such high latitudes never get above freezing. The ice cannot be carbon dioxide ice because at the time this photo was taken all carbon dioxide ice had previously sublimated.

This image was taken by ESA's Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). Clicking on this image will take you to the original high definition image. I highly recommend you check it out!

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 17 2011

Today's Image of Mars is of Maunder Crater, which lies in the Noachis Terra region of Mars. Maunder Crater is 90km in diameter, but barely 900m deep because it has been filled in by surrounding sediments. The western side of the crater (bottom of this image) collapsed in on itself an and the resultant landslide transported loose material eastward into the crater. The landslide resulted in the formation of hummocky terrain, identifiable by irregularly-shaped hills and valleys.

But what are the eye-catching black marks at the center of the crater?

These 500 to 2500 meter long features are called Barchan dunes, which are among the most common dune forms in arid environments. In fact, similar dunes are found in dry areas on Earth, like in Western Africa's Namib Desert.

This image was compiled from three images taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard the Mars Express. The image below links to the original, full page, high resolution image. The image is so detailed I highly recommend you click on it because it is stunning.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 14 2011

Today's Image of Mars is of the volcano Tharsis Tholis, as taken by Mars Express Orbiter's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). The volcano rises 8km above the surrounding terrain and is one of the many Tharsis Volcanoes. It stretches 155 x 125km at its base and its caldera (opening) is 32 x 34km.

Tharsis Tholis is unique among Martian volcanoes due to the degree by which it has been modified by faulting. Large faults cut across the entire volcano. dividing it into several major sections. [View images of Tharsis Tholis as taken by other cameras aboard Mars Express]

Click on the image below to see the original high resolution image from Mars Express.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 12 2011

Today's Image of Mars is of Nili Fossae in perspective, as taken by Mars Express Orbiter on Feb 8 2008. Nili Fossae is a graben system on Mars. 'Graben' is the term used to identify the lowered terrain in the area between two parallel faults or fractures. The area collapses when tectonic forces pull the area apart.

Nili Fossae contains many grabens and is located "northeast of the Syrtis Major volcanic province, on the northwestern edge of the giant Isidis impact basin." (ESA) Some of the fractures and faults in the Martian crust extend up to 500 meters deep.

One of the intriguing things about Nili Fossae lies above the surface. Earth-based telescopes have detected that the atmosphere around Nili Fossae contains an increased amount of methane. This leads scientists to believe that methane may be produced in the area, a theory which the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter will attempt to verify if/when it launches. The orbiter is currently expected to launch in 2016, but has suffered numerous setbacks, some of which I detailed in the October article, Russia Looks Set to Become Partner in ExoMars Mission.

Clicking on this image will take you to the full page high resolution image taken by Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC)

Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 11 2011

Today's Image of Mars is a perspective of Oraibi Crater, as taken by Mars Express Orbiter. Oraibi Crater is 32 km in diameter and a prominent feature in Ares Valles, an outflow channel channel on Mars.

The crater is filled with sediments and a large part of its southern rim has been eroded by the water that once flooded Ares Valles. On the right side of this image you can see a number of relatively recent craters.

Clicking on this image will take you to the original image taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). I highly recommend checking it out because it's a lot bigger and you can zoom in on it.

Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 1 2011

Today's Image of Mars is a perspective view of Solis Planum, looking southeast, as taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft on May 23 2004. In this photo you can see part of a heavily eroded crater, which has a diameter of 53km and a rim that is around 800m high.

Solis Planum is located in the mountainous Thaumasia region of Mars, just southwest of Valles Marineris.

I highly recommend clicking on this image so you can see the it full screen and zoom in. It truly is remarkable!

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Mars Photo of the Day - Sept 25 2011

Today's Mars Photo is of Galle Crater, which is a 230 km crater resembling the classic smiley face. This image was taken by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). This happy face crater was first discovered by the Viking I Orbiter mission.

This image will link to the original one on ESA servers, which is much higher-resolution.

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