r/Mars

This is a re-image of an observation we acquired in 2016 to measure dune mobility. This is a remarkable and rare example of ice-dune interaction, which can be seen as a modern analogue of the burial of the wind-driven, ice-rich sedimentary deposit under the North Polar layered deposits of Mars.

ID: ESP_077242_2615

​date: 18 January 2023

​altitude: 319 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_077242_2615

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

This area is dominated by bright exposures as revealed by CaSSIS instrument data as well as Context Camera images. The Thaumasia plateau is south of the Valles Marineris canyon system and consists of high lava plains partly surrounded by rugged highlands, mostly of Noachian and Hesperian age. The name comes from Thaumas, Greek god of the clouds and celestial apparitions.

ID: ESP_077241_1455

​date: 17 January 2023

​altitude: 248 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_077241_1455

​NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona​

Many impact craters on Mars were filled with ice in past climates. Sometimes this ice flows or slumps down the crater walls into the center and acquires concentric wrinkles as a result. This image shows an example of this.

There are other ways that scientists know the material in the crater is icy. Surface cracks that form polygonal shapes cover the material in the crater. They are easy to see in this spring-time image because seasonal frost hides inside the cracks, outlining them in bright white. These cracks form because ice within the ground expands and contracts a lot as it warms and cools.

Scientists can see similar cracks in icy areas of the Earth and other icy locations on Mars. If you look closely, you’ll see small polygons inside larger ones. The small polygons are younger and the cracks shallower while the large ones are outlined with cracks that penetrate more deeply.

ID: ESP_047247_1150

​date: 24 August 2016

​altitude: 248 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_047247_1150

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

What exactly does impact here mean? Hit the ground? If yes, what allows small objects survive the ride through the atmosphere?

The word impact often gets debated in this context. I consider Earth's atmosphere part of Earth, so I use it. Did it survive? At ~1.5 m across, 16 km/s, and an 18° entry angle, it probably mostly burned up, but small meteorites are possible depending on composition and fragmentation height.

https://bsky.app/profile/tony873004.bsky.social/post/3mlwb7bed3k2p

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If it was so small how did it managed to survive the entry burn up?

It might not have survived. But it could have dropped meteorites.

https:// ​x. ​com/tony873004/status/2055409224713441771

Tony Dunn

https://bsky.app/profile/tony873004.bsky.social/post/3mlwcavpfsc2n

More in the thread:

​https://groups.io/g/mpml/topic/119328235

A Mars Orbiter Camera shows good exposures of varied materials at this site, but our HiRISE observation can improve on the resolution to see fine scale details in the bedding. The layers appear to have varied albedo and regions free of dust. We want to look for variations and indications of composition.

ID: ESP_077241_1790

​date: 17 January 2023

​altitude: 270 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_077241_1790

​NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona​

This image shows (part of ) a 6-kilometer crater located on the northern slope of Bond Crater. Pole-facing gullies have eroded the northern slope of this small crater, located just west of where Uzboi Valles emanates from Bond and continues in a northerly direction.

However, Hale Crater to the south has numerous gullies on its slopes and even on its central peak region. Researchers have analyzed both Bond and Hale Craters to try to determine why Bond has no gullies on its slopes, except for a small 7-km crater on the floor in its central area.

The gullies in this observation have eroded into bedrock layers forming tributaries in the upper slope region and distributary channels further downslope on the debris fans. Research attributes these features to fluvial processes.

ID: ESP_074246_1475

​date: 29 May 2022

​altitude: 257 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_074246_1475

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

A picture of Mars surface and how the sun looks from there.

On the plains of Grimes County, Texas, ground is breaking on what promises to be the largest manufacturing facility on Earth. Known as Terafab, the joint mega-venture between SpaceX, Tesla, and Intel represents a pivotal paradigm shift in aerospace architecture. It is not just another semiconductor plant but the computational backbone for humanity's multi-planetary future.

While rockets and spacecraft dominate conversations about reaching Mars, the bottleneck of 21st-century space exploration is silicon. Terafab aims to produce over one terawatt of AI compute per year under a single, vertically integrated 100-million-square-foot roof. From radiation-hardened microprocessors to autonomous robotics, this facility is designed to bridge the gap between Earth-bound computing power and the deep-space infrastructure needed to establish a permanent human presence on Mars.

>Read more<

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S Atkinson

https://bsky.app/profile/stuartatkinson.bsky.social/post/3msd3srvvo22e

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Raw data

Mars Perseverance Sol 1939: Right Navigation Camera (Navcam)

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard Right Navigation Camera (Navcam). The camera is located high on the rover's mast and aids in driving.

This image was acquired on Aug. 4, 2026 (Sol 1939) at the local mean solar time of 17:43:30.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech​

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/NRF_1939_0839093562_489ECM_N0901420NCAM03939_01_195J​