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Artist concept of Glaciers on Mars

Artist concept of glacier on Mars.

November 20, 2008

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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This view combines information from two instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to map color-coded composition over the shape of the ground in a small portion of the Nili Fossae plains re...
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This view combines information from two instruments on a NASA Mars orbiter to map color-coded composition over the shape of the ground within the Nili Fossae plains region of Mars. Carbonate-rich deposits in this area (coded green) hold some carbon formerly in the atmosphere's carbon dioxide.
Rocks Here Sequester Some of Mars' Early Atmosphere
This enhanced image shows the inside of a rimless pit about 180 meters (591 feet) in diameter, northwest of the mountain Ascraeus Mons in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
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This enhanced image shows the inside of a rimless pit about 180 meters (591 feet) in diameter, northwest of the mountain Ascraeus Mons in the northern hemisphere of Mars.
Sand Ripples Inside a Rimless Martian Pit (Stretched)
These barchan (crescent-shaped) sand dunes are found within the North Polar erg of Mars.
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These barchan (crescent-shaped) sand dunes are found within the North Polar erg of Mars.
Well-Speckled Polar Dunes
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this series of false-color pictures of sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars
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The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter snapped this series of false-color pictures of sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars
Seasonal Changes on Far-Northern Mars
This image, acquired on May 13, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows sand dunes scouring what appears to be a highly-cratered, old lava flow in the Tempe Terra region, located in the N...
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This image, acquired on May 13, 2018 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows sand dunes scouring what appears to be a highly-cratered, old lava flow in the Tempe Terra region, located in the Northern Hemisphere.
This is Not the Hydrothermal Deposit You're Looking For
With the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument just above his head, a technician at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center works on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft...
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With the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument just above his head, a technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center works on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft in July 2005.
Spectrometer for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
In this Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter view of the Curiosity rover mission's waypoint called "the Kimberley," the red dot indicates the location of a sandstone target, "Windjana," selected for close-u...
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In this Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter view of the Curiosity rover mission's waypoint called "the Kimberley," the red dot indicates the location of a sandstone target, "Windjana," selected for close-up inspection. The
Location of Mars Sandstone Target 'Windjana'
The Mars Color Imager (MARCI), shown here with a gloved hand for scale, is designed to produce a global map to help characterize daily, seasonal and year-to-year variations in Mars' climate, provid...
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The Mars Color Imager (MARCI), shown here with a gloved hand for scale, is designed to produce a global map to help characterize daily, seasonal and year-to-year variations in Mars' climate, providing a daily weather report for Mars.
Mars Color Imager (MARCI) for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Artist's concept of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
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Artist's concept of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
MRO Artist Concept
This series of images shows warm-season features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today.
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This series of images shows warm-season features that might be evidence of salty liquid water active on Mars today.
Warm-Season Flows on Slope in Newton Crater (Five-Image Sequence)
This image covers a "fresh-looking" impact crater with a diameter of about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles). 
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This image covers a "fresh-looking" impact crater
Many Gullies in a Fresh Impact Crater (3-D)
This observation shows erosional features on light-toned rocks in Aram Chaos, a crater near the equator of Mars that has been nearly filled with sedimentary rocks.
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This observation shows erosional features on light-toned rocks in Aram Chaos, a crater near the equator of Mars that has been nearly filled with sedimentary rocks.
Badlands of Aram Chaos
This map shows the frequency of carbon dioxide frost's presence at sunrise on Mars, as a percentage of days year-round. Carbon dioxide ice more often covers the ground at night in some mid-latitude...
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This map shows the frequency of carbon dioxide frost's presence at sunrise on Mars, as a percentage of days year-round. Carbon dioxide ice more often covers the ground at night in some mid-latitude regions than in polar regions, where it is generally absent for much of summer and fall.
Where on Mars Does Carbon Dioxide Frost Form Often?
Stokes Crater, pictured here, is one of at least nine craters in the northern lowlands of Mars with exposures of hydrated minerals detected from orbit, according to a June 25, 2010, report.
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Stokes Crater, pictured here, is one of at least nine craters in the northern lowlands of Mars with exposures of hydrated minerals detected from orbit.
Hydrated Minerals Exposed at Stokes, Northern Mars
A Lockheed Martin-built Atlas 5 rocket, like the one pictured, will launch the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter in August 2005 from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida.
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In this image, against a bright blue sky streaked with thin clouds, a Lockheed Martin-built gold and white rocket lifts off its pad at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. Fire bursts from the bottom of the rocket which is surrounded by four lightning suppression towers, two of which are in view in this picture.
Atlas 5 Rocket
A towering dust devil, casts a serpentine shadow over the Martian surface in this image acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbi...
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A towering dust devil, casts a serpentine shadow over the Martian surface in this image acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The Serpent Dust Devil of Mars
A newly found, buried deposit of frozen carbon dioxide -- dry ice -- near the south pole of Mars contains about 30 times more carbon dioxide than previously estimated to be frozen near the pole.
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A newly found, buried deposit of frozen carbon dioxide -- dry ice -- near the south pole of Mars contains about 30 times more carbon dioxide than previously estimated to be frozen near the pole.
Thickness Map of Buried Carbon-Dioxide Deposit
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and tracks from its driving are visible in this view from orbit, acquired on April 11, 2014, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's ...
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NASA's Curiosity Mars rover and tracks from its driving are visible in this view from orbit, acquired on April 11, 2014, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Curiosity and Rover Tracks at 'the Kimberley,' April 2014
This view shows a full-resolution portion of the first image of Mars taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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This view shows a full-resolution portion of the first image of Mars taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
First Mars Image from Newly Arrived Camera
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...
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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!
South Pole Spiders
This image shows an example of layers in the Martian north polar deposits. These deposits, part of the Planum Boreum dome, are composed mainly of water ice and small amounts of dust.
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This image shows an example of layers in the Martian north polar deposits. These deposits, part of the Planum Boreum dome, are composed mainly of water ice and small amounts of dust. The layers within these deposits are exposed by shallowly-sloping troughs that cut into them. This image is particularly interesting because it crosses complicated trough geometry, making the layers appear curved and exposing multiple stratigraphic levels. Note that layers of different thicknesses are visible. Layer thickness is directly related to the accumulation rate of the layer; a higher accumulation rate will lead to a thicker layer. However, a myriad of factors work together to influence accumulation rate, such as the amount of sunlight reaching the surface and the amount of water in the contemporaneous atmosphere.
Stratigraphy of the North Polar Deposits
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Ex...
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NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. With early spring at the Phoenix landing site comes progressive sublimation of carbon-dioxide frost that has blanketed the lander and surrounding terrain throughout the winter. During the long polar-winter night, atmospheric carbon dioxide freezes onto the surface, building up a layer of frost roughly 30 centimeters (about one foot) thick. In the spring this frost returns to atmosphere gas (sublimates) over the course of several months. This image, part of a seasonal frost monitoring sequence, shows some areas of bare ground are beginning to be exposed. However, extensive frost patches remain in the topographic lows, such as the troughs of the local polygonally patterned surface.
Phoenix Lander Amid Disappearing Spring Ice
Nili Patera is a region on Mars in which dunes and ripples are moving rapidly. HiRISE continues to monitor this area every couple of months to see changes over seasonal and annual time scales.
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This image shows, smooth dark dunes, with lighter gray sand in between them.
Dunes and Ripples in Nili Patera
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars in its approach to and April 1, 2014, arrival at a waypoint called "the Kimberley," which rover team scientists chose in 2013 as the locatio...
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This map shows the route driven by NASA's Curiosity Mars in its approach to and April 1, 2014, arrival at a waypoint called "the Kimberley," which rover team scientists chose in 2013 as the location for the mission's next major investigations.
Map of Curiosity Mars Rover's Drives to 'the Kimberley' Waypoint
This HiRISE image shows a mixture of bright and dark units. The bright units have a mineral called sulfate (salty sulfuric acid) that on Earth typically forms in the presence of water as an evapori...
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This HiRISE image shows a mixture of bright and dark units.
Jumbled Terrain in Ius Chasma (3-D)

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