Among the many discoveries by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since the mission was launched on Aug. 12, 2005, are seasonal flows on some steep slopes, possibly shallow seeps of salty water. This July 21, 2015, image from the orbiter's HiRISE camera shows examples within Mars' Valles Marineris.
August 10, 2015
This series of images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successively zooms into "spider" features -- or channels carved in the surface in radial patterns -- in the south polar region of Mars.
July 22, 2015
NASA is advancing the Journey to Mars by starting the conversation about where humans may one day land on the Red Planet.
June 29, 2015
More evidence of a dynamic Mars is revealed at the edge of a martian dune field.
June 17, 2015
Researchers have found deposits of impact glass preserved in Martian craters, including Alga Crater, shown here.
June 8, 2015
This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta, the material thrown out of the crater when a meteorite hit Mars.
June 3, 2015
MRO took this image of layered, sedimentary rocks on the floor of an impact crater north of Eberswalde Crater. Billions of years ago there may have been a lake in this crater.
May 20, 2015
The South Polar residual cap (the part that lasts through the summer) is composed of carbon dioxide ice.
May 20, 2015
Although the season is late spring, carbon dioxide ice still covers much of the surface at this high latitude site.
May 11, 2015
This graphic depicts the relative shapes and distances from Mars for five active orbiter missions plus the planet's two natural satellites. It illustrates the potential for intersections of the spacecraft orbits.
May 4, 2015
A view from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on April 8, 2015, catches sight of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover passing through a valley called "Artist's Drive" on the lower slope of Mount Sharp.
April 22, 2015
A view from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on April 8, 2015, catches sight of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover passing through a valley called "Artist's Drive" on the lower slope of Mount Sharp.
April 22, 2015
Streaks seen on warm Martian slopes might be caused by seeping water rich in salts that lower its freezing point far below the freezing point of pure water. These features, known as Recurring Slope Lineae, can be found on the central peaks of Hale Crater.
April 8, 2015
Recurring slope lineae (RSL) are active flows on warm Martian slopes that might be caused by seeping water.
April 8, 2015
What appear to be spiders scampering across the martian landscape are actually cracks in the surface of the southern polar region on Mars, seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on August 23, 2009. Caused as carbon dioxide ice evaporates and escapes into the atmosphere, there is no escaping that these "araneiform" features look like our 8 legged friends!
March 27, 2015
