Planet Mars: Of Wind, Time & Gullies | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Of Wind, Time & Gullies | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The objective of this observation is to look for changes over several Mars years (one Mars year is equivalent to two years on Earth) of any recurring slope lineae. This location is near the central peak of Loshe Crater, to the east of Argyre Planitia. It is 156 km in diameter and was named after Oswald Lohse, a German astronomer (1845-1915). 

Argyre Planitia is a plain located within the impact basin Argyre in the southern highlands of Mars. Its name comes from a map produced by Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1877; it refers to Argyre, a mythical island of silver in Greek mythology.

Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) are a unique phenomenon on Mars, characterized by their narrow, dark streaks that extend incrementally downslope on steep rocky slopes. These features are active during warm seasons and fade in colder seasons but recur over multiple Mars years. RSL are most active on slopes that receive more direct sunlight and are found primarily in the southern mid-latitudes of Mars. The formation of RSL is still a subject of research, with potential explanations including dry mass wasting, carbon dioxide sublimation, and subsurface melting of brines.

This is a non-narrated clip with ambient sound. Image is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 253 km (157 mi).

Image Date: Nov. 8, 2022
Local Mars time: 14:30
Latitude (centered): -43.311°
Longitude (East): 343.208°

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

Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Duration: 3 minutes, 23 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 1, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Geoscience #Landscape #Terrain #RecurringSlopeLineae #RSL #LosheCrater #ArgyrePlanitia #SouthernHemisphere #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #UA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video