Mars Photo of the Day - 10 Oct 2012

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Today's Image of Mars shows an area at the base of Gale Crater's Mount Sharp where Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity will eventually explore. The darkest colored materials are deposits small grained, windblown sand. The blue areas represent unaltered igneous rock, whereas the lighter brownish-red colors are indicative of the same type of rock altered by what most scientists believe was water. 

MSL Curiosity's mission is to search for signs that Mars could have once supported life as we know it; examining minerals that have been altered by the presence of water will help us to determine that. Studying the chemical composition of these rocks will provide us with unparalleled insight into the past environment on Mars. 

Clicking on this image will take you to the original high resolution image. [HiRISE caption for the image]

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 24 2011

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Today's Image of Mars is of part of Turkey Haven, the aptly named place that Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will be spending the Thanksgiving weekend. Oppy will be studying the rocks in Turkey Haven for the weekend. I felt this was a fitting image for Thanksgiving Day, don'r you think?

There are a lot of interesting rocks and features in Turkey Haven and the microscopic imager is sure to return some great fascinating photos after the long weekend!

As with most images from Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity, this has been colored by Stuart Atkinson from The Road to Endeavour. Clicking on the image below will take you to the post on his blog where this image is from.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Nov 4 2011

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Today's Image of Mars is a color closeup of the mysterious vein called Homestake.  Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has stopped to examine it en route to find a safe haven for the looming winter. The MER team is very interested in this protruding rock.

But of all the rocks on Mars, why this rock?

Well according to the MER principle investigator, Steve Squyres,  this rock is "different than anything from anything we've ever seen with either rover, a completely new thing on Mars, never seen anywhere. And we're pretty charged up about it." Now if you ask me, that is something to be excited about! And just look at how much it stands out!

I  promise that I will keep you updated on all developments related to this vein!

Click on the image to see the article containing this image, as well as other amazing images of this vein enhanced by Stuart Atkinson from The Road to Endeavour. If you don's you'll really be missing out!

The image was colored and augmented by Stuart Atkinson from The Road to Endeavour. 

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Mars Photo of the Day - Oct 27 2011

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Today's Image of Mars once again comes from Stuart Atkinson at The Road to Endeavour. It shows a realistically colored image of a rock Mars Exploration Rover recently passed called "New Consort." I'm not sure where the MER team came up with that name, but I've long since given up trying to guess. The original black and white image were sent back today, but it was taken as Opportunity passed by the rock roughly two days ago. 

Clicking on this image will take you to the post from The Road to Endeavour where he discusses the image (and some others). I can't impress enough on all of you how amazing Atkinson is. He brings the raw images from Opportunity to life and his commentary makes you feel like you are right there alongside the Mars Rover. I highly recommend you click this image then subscribe to his blog.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Oct 6 2011

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Today's Image of Mars is of a central peak in one of Mars' unnamed craters. These colorful rocks are the result of variations in mineral content due to water activity sometime in Mars' past. 

Who would have guessed that Mars could be home to such a beautiful array of colors?

Click the image to see the original captioned photo from HiRISE.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Sept 22 2011

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Today's Mars Photo was taken by Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity on a rock being called Salisbury. Oppy been brushing this area clean of dust and drilling into it with its rock abrasion tool for the past few days. This allow the rover to get a view of the 'raw' rock beneath the weathered, dust-covered surface. The rover is continuing to use its microscopic imager to determine what the rock is made of and learn more about its past. 

This photo was colored by The Road to Endeavour Blog, one of the leading authorities on everything related to MER Opportunity. Clicking on the image below will take you to the post where he discusses Salisbury in much more detail with numerous photos.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Sept 8 2011

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Today's Mars Photo shows a slab of exposed bedrock at Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's current location. Opportunity has pulled up to this heart-shaped bedrock and will likely be studying it for a few days. The rock has been named Chester Lake by the MER team for reasons currently unknown. 

This image is a compilation of photos as taken by Opportunity's panoramic camera. It was compiled and colored by Stuart Atkinson from The Road to Endeavour blog. Please note that this is not the true color, but it has been "enhanced and sharpened" to bring out subtle details on the rocks surface and in its surroundings." See a similar 3D image of this heart-shaped bedrock from the same blog.

Clicking this image will take you to the original, much larger image.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Sept 7 2011

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Today's Mars Photo is from Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity as it leaves behind the grouping of Tisdale rocks around Odyssey Crater. This comes after Opportunity spent a few days examining the various ejecta and determined that the rocks were unlike any others examined on Mars. Opportunity is now headed off to Cape York as it continues its search for the clay minerals discovered by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter that indicate Mars may have once been habitable to life. 

The photo links to the original.

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Mars Photo of the Day - Sept 4 2011

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Todays Mars Photo was taken by the Mars Pathfinder in Ares Valles on July 4 1997. The large boulders in the image were most likely deposited by the catastrophic floods that created the valley. The sky is reddish brown because of the dust particles abundant the atmosphere.

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