The Changing Surface of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The Changing Surface of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Oribter (MRO) commonly takes images of recent craters on Mars that are usually found by the MRO Context Camera where they disturb surface dust. An impact site in this area was first imaged in December 2017.

Dust has since eroded from the surface, probably due to the planet-encircling dust storm back in 2018. The dark spots around the fresh craters have vanished because they only affected the dust that has since disappeared.

This HiRISE image was captured by NASA's MRO at an altitude of 290 kilometers (180 miles).

The 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
Image Date: March 24, 2019
Release Date: March 17, 2025

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