Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Update Thread

[kane007]

Heat shield and pieces.

 

[kane007]

Next on the itinerary is the Spirit rover - currently investigating the Columbia Hills – then the Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers that touched down in 1976, and the Mars Pathfinder that landed in July 1997.

 

[MeteorWayne]

It's rather ironic that we have a probe in place over Mars that can spot these tiny objects, yet haven't been back to the moon with such capability in 30 years.<br /><br />We sure wasted the effort of Apollo after it ended <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[brellis]

<font color="yellow">haven't been back to the moon with such capability in 30 years. </font><br /><br />How many times I've heard lack of such lunar visuals as 'proof' that the Apollo Program was a fake! arrrrgh! Actually, SMART-1 had a chance to capture an image of an Apollo site, but it wasn't close enough to resolve a craft on that pass.<br /><br /><font color="yellow">We sure wasted the effort of Apollo after it ended</font><br /><br />In the longer/bigger time picture, we've still got the blueprints, and are we not using quite a bit of our Apollo experience on GWB's next-generation starfleet? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

"haven't been back to the moon with such capability in 30 years. <br /><br />How many times I've heard lack of such lunar visuals as 'proof' that the Apollo Program was a fake! arrrrgh! Actually, SMART-1 had a chance to capture an image of an Apollo site, but it wasn't close enough to resolve a craft on that pass. "<br /><br />Yeah I thought about that. Howvere it's all politics and money.<br /><br />IIRC, one of the upcoming missions this decade may finally be able to resolve some of our debris <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[kane007]

The flood gates are now open at HiRise Team website!

 

[kane007]

Delta In Eberswalde<br /><br />

 

[radarredux]

> <i><font color="yellow">It's rather ironic that we have a probe in place over Mars that can spot these tiny objects, yet haven't been back to the moon with such capability in 30 years.</font>/i><br /><br />About two more years for LRO...</i>

 

[radarredux]

Make sure you post links for the full size images. They are incredible!<br /><br />Check out the gullies running down the side of sand dunes (size: 2048 x 3197):<br />http://hiroc.lpl.arizona.edu/images/PSP/PSP_001440_1255/PSP_001440_1255_RED.browse.jpg<br />

 

[abq_farside]

<font color="yellow"><i>Delta In Eberswalde </i></font>i><br /><br />Wow - I gotta see that in full size - going to take a look at the HiRise site for that image <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em><font size="1" color="#000080">Don't let who you are keep you from becoming who you want to be!</font></em></p> </div>

 

[abq_farside]

<font color="yellow"><i>Check out the gullies running down the side of sand dunes </i></font>/i><br /><br />Thanks for the link - that really <b>was</b> incredible <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em><font size="1" color="#000080">Don't let who you are keep you from becoming who you want to be!</font></em></p> </div>

 

[barrykirk]

So at what point is this all going to be assembled into<br />a zoomable picture like live.local?

 

[brellis]

Try Google Mars <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[halman]

MeteorWayne,<br /><br />Such is the power of believing life might exist on Mars. No other body in the Solar System has been as intently studied, even though the possibility of human exploration is still years away. And if some solid evidence of life were to be found on Mars, the Moon would be forgotten again, even though it offers far more in terms of material benefits.<br /><br />Off planet exploration is still very much all about pure scientific research, not opening up a frontier for human endeavor, or expanding the resource base available to us. I believe that it is long past time to put science in the back seat, and to focus on learning how to get people off of this rock, to somewhere that they can extract minerals, process them, and build with them. There will always be time for scientific research once we have established ourselves off planet, but every day that we delay doing so increases the risk that something will prevent us from ever doing so.<br /><br />And getting established off planet does not mean having to travel hundreds of millions of kilometers, because everything that we need is in plain sight, right there on the Moon. Once we have learned how to utilize those resources, everything becomes much easier. And learning how to utilize those resources will generate the wealth that will make traveling hundreds of millions of kilometers much easier, as we will be able to afford to develop advanced propulsion systems, closed-loop life support, and radiation shielding that does not weigh more than the vehicle. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> The secret to peace of mind is a short attention span. </div>

 

[kane007]

Animated Gif "movie" of Opportunity at Victoria - 2006/11/29.<br /><br /><br />

 

[telfrow]

NASA Mars Orbiter Photographs Spirit and Vikings on the Ground<br /><br /><b>Viking 2</b> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#3366ff">Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yeild.</font> - <font color="#3366ff"><em>Tennyson</em></font></strong> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Wow again, the capabilities of this camera are amazing! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[kane007]

New set of 12 images recently released at the HiRise site - 2006/12/06.<br /><br />Including this lovely Valles Marineris Wall Rock image.

 

[kane007]

What's this? Mars trying to hide an impact crater?<br /><br />North Polar Permanent Cap Crater

 

[kane007]

The images are know coming thick and faster, so whats the chances of making this thread a sticky <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> ?

 

[brellis]

I'm willing to bump this thread daily, lol.<br /><br />A question: after all the excitement over the MOC images, i wonder how rapidly can HiRise snap pics? Can it make a several-frame movie of an outflow location during one orbital pass? Then we'd have even more to go on in the search for wawa. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font size="2" color="#ff0000"><em><strong>I'm a recovering optimist - things could be better.</strong></em></font> </p> </div>

 

[abq_farside]

Self-serving bump <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em><font size="1" color="#000080">Don't let who you are keep you from becoming who you want to be!</font></em></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Image PSP_001420_2045 (below) was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 15, 2006. The complete image is centered at 24.5 degrees latitude, 188.1 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 288.9 km (180.6 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 28.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 57.8 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here [below] has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:23 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 48 degrees, thus the sun was about 42 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.6 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. <br /><br />Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: <br /><br />http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ <br /><br />or <br /><br />http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/HiRISE/ <br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

HiRISE image PSP_001420_2045 (below) shows a narrow trough running down the center of a valley that lies between two hills in the Tartarus Colles region of Mars. Lower resolution images acquired by earlier spacecraft showed that a platy-ridged flow, perhaps of lava, ran through this valley before solidifying. However at HiRISE resolution, the dominant textures on the valley floor are not rafted plates and arcuate ridges but scallops in the dust that blankets the surface and rocky knobs that poke through much of the dust. Several of the knobs are boulders that tumbled downhill in a process known as mass wasting, which has widened the valley over time. The prominent trough in the middle of the valley is about 40 m (130 feet) wide, and it is not entirely continuous. In the upper part of the sub-image (above), two trough segments terminate in blunt ends that are separated by a natural bridge or wall of material 23 meters (75 feet) wide. Given the broader geologic context, it is likely that this trough formed as a lava tube and that its roof has mostly caved in over time, leaving only a small section standing. Lava tubes form when the top and sides of a "river" of lava freeze while molten rock continues to flow through its interior. After the eruption ceases, molten lava flows out of the tube leaving it empty. Tubes require a steady and sustained flow of lava to form, and they allow the lava to be transported a considerable distance without losing too much heat. HiRISE images like this one are helping to decipher the different types of volcanism that have occurred on Mars. <br /><br />Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: <br /><br />http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ <br /><br />or <br /><br />http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/HiRISE/ <br /><br /><br />Andrew <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Dunes with Proctor Crater on Mars are seen in this newly released HiRISE image. Proctor is located in the southern hemisphere where it is winter at the time this image was taken. The HiRISE image documents new seasonal processes occurring on dunes at this latitude, as well as other interesting phenomena. The bright tones are interpreted as CO2 or H2O frost. This is generally concentrated on the east-facing slopes of the dunes, which are in shadow and therefore cooler. Some dark spots on the dunes may be areas that have defrosted more than surrounding terrain. Landslides and dark-toned streaks are seen on many of the west-facing dune slopes. The general dune morphology indicates formation by westerly winds. However, zooming in on the image shows smaller scale ripples that appear to have been formed by winds blowing from the south and north. <br /><br />Image PSP_001558_1325 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 25, 2006. The complete image is centered at -47.2 degrees latitude, 33.9 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 249.2 km (155.7 miles). At this distance the image scale is 49.9 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~150 cm across are resolved. The image shown here has been map-projected to 50 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:44 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 80 degrees, thus the sun was about 10 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 140.9 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer. <br /><br />Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: <br /><br />http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ <br /><br />or <br /><br />http://marsoweb.nas.nas <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>