3 Amazing HiRISE Martian Surface Photos

Based on a far greater response than I could possible have anticipated on my How to become an Astronaut article, I've decided to expand further into the cosmological field, which is nothing short of breathtaking in its ability to inspire and bedazzle.

Before we begin, a little info on the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) project itself. Without getting too technical, the HiRISE is a camera set on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the spacecraft that is in orbit around Mars. Despite its distance from the Martian surface, this $40 million dollar camera can resolve objects as small as a beach-ball on the surface itself.

The following photos are from this technological marvel. Judge for yourselves.

Do not be fooled, what at first glance looks terrifyingly like Asparagus on the Martian surface, is actually a top-down photo of an avalanche. An excellent summary of this effect is brought up by a Bad Astronomy article which sums it up as follows:

"But what are those weird tendril thingies?

In the Martian winter, carbon dioxide freezes out of the air (and you thought it was cold where youare). In the summer, that CO₂ sublimates; that is, turns directly from a solid to a gas. When that happens the sand gets disturbed, and falls down the slopes in little channels, which spreads out when it hits the bottom. But this disturbs the red dust, too, which flows with the sand. When it’s all done, you get those feathery tendrils"

I personally find the pespective a little confusing, but the image itself is astonishing, is it not?

This is an image showing the way frost collects in craters, the HiRISE team say that the ice itself spreads unilaterally when there are no dunes, the effect is aesthetically sublime. From the HiRISE team themselves:

"Dunes are often found on crater floors. In the winter time at high northern latitudes the terrain is covered by carbon dioxide ice (dry ice). In the spring as this seasonal ice evaporates many unusual features unique to Mars are visible.

On the floor of this crater where there are no dunes, the ice forms an uninterrupted layer. On the dunes however, dark streaks form as surface material from below the ice is mobilized and deposited on top of the ice. In some cases this mobile material probably slides down the steep face of the dune, while in other cases it may be literally blown out in a process of gas release similar to removing a cork from a champagne bottle."

Source and high definition image

This is an important shot as well as being beautiful because it sheds light on Mar's "Dark Spot" or what is known as Syrtis Major. The eccentric color scheme are due to its particular geological make-up.

"Syrtis Major is a shield volcano. Its dark color comes from the dark basaltic rock in the area, visible because it lacks the dust that paints the rest of the planet its distinct, rusty red color"

HiRISE team - Andrea Philippoff Jones