Planet Mars: Exploring Mounds in the Chryse Region | NASA MRO

Planet Mars: Exploring Mounds in the Chryse Region | NASA MRO

Mounds in the Chryse Region

Enhanced color close-up

The mounds in this observation may have been formed by a process called “diapirism,” where material at depth is more buoyant (i.e., lower density) than the surrounding rocks so it rises to the surface. Chryse Planitia is a flat lowland region in the northern hemisphere of the planet Mars that was chosen for the landing sites of the U.S. Viking 1 and Mars Pathfinder planetary probes. Chryse Planitia is close to the Tharsis region at the intersection of the Mare Acidalium, the Lunae Palus and the Oxia Palus quadrangles. This region has been noted for its immense outflow channels and chaotic terrain since the 1970’s, when the U.S. Mariner 9 spacecraft first revealed the geologic diversity of Mars. The Chryse basin has apparently been the site of lava and sediment deposition.

This HiRISE image cutout is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 287 km (179 mi).

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), Washington.

For more information on MRO, visit:

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Text Credit: USGS, Wikipedia, Britannica

Image Date: May 26, 2012
Release Date: June 24, 2025

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