HiRISE Science Team wrote:Fault in Ius Chasma (ESP_025231_1720) (video)
This image in Ius Chasma, a portion of the massive canyon system Vallis Marineris, draws our attention because a fault previously imaged by the Mars Orbiter Camera.
A valley cuts also cuts across the ridge. Is this the result of some tectonic process? A study in 2012 suggested that Mars possesses tectonic plates, but if so, how these processes work is still an area of study.
This is a stereo pair with ESP_017939_1720.
HiRISE Science Team wrote:Cratered Cones in the Cydonia Region (ESP_025439_2210) (video)
This observation focuses on an unusually high density of cratered cones, imaged previously by the Mars Orbiter Camera. These cones could possibly be mud volcanos. On Earth, a large number of these formations are located in Gobustan, Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea.
If they are mud volcanoes, what are the processes on Mars that might have created them? At HiRISE resolution, we can look for subtle flow features and compare these with other cratered cones elsewhere on Mars.
This is a stereo pair with ESP_025518_2210.
Alfred McEwen wrote:More Impact Craters from MSL (ESP_030524_1755) (video)
The Mars Science Laboratory mission released a total of 8 tungsten masses for balance purposes during entry and descent. Two 75-kilogram masses were released at the top of the atmosphere, and the resultant craters were probably imaged in ESP_029245_1755.
At a much lower altitude, six 25-kilogram masses were released shortly before deployment of the parachute in a maneuver called Straighten Up and Flight Right (SUFR), to realign the capsule center of mass with the parachute axis of symmetry. These six impact sites were first detected by CTX. This HiRISE image reveals impact craters about 2 meters wide. We captured four of these craters in enhanced color.
HiRISE has now imaged the crash sites for these 8 tungsten masses, parts of the cruise stage, the heat shield, the backshell and parachute, and the descent stage. Most of the stuff we sent to Mars crashed on the surface--everything except the Curiosity rover.
Ross A. Beyer wrote:Delta Structure in Eberswalde Crater (PSP_001336_1560) (video)
Eberswalde Crater contains layered rocks about 100-meters thick exposed in a a well-preserved delta (Malin and Edgett 2003, Moore et al. 2003).
This sedimentary deposit contains dozens of shallowly tilted, alternating bright and dark layers of varying thickness (1–10 meters). HiRISE terrain models reveal structures in these layers which are interpreted as lake-floor deposits (Lewis and Aharonson 2006, Pondrelli et al. 2008).
This delta is distinguished from other fan-shaped deposits on Mars by the presence of a preserved distributary network including lobes, inverted channels, and meander cutoffs. Another example of a fan with a distributary network can be found in Jezero Crater, which may represent a more degraded version of the same kind of system.
This is a stereo pair with PSP_001534_1560.
Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
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