Skip Navigation
menu

Images

Ridges near Nirgal Valles

Ridges near Nirgal Valles

March 06, 2018

Click here for larger version of PIA22333
Map Projected Browse Image
Click on the image for larger version

In this observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), we see a set of straight ridges in ancient bedrock near Nirgal Valles. The patterns indicate fractures from tectonic stresses, but how have they been hardened to now stand in positive relief after billions of years of erosion?

It is possible that groundwater flowed through the fractures, depositing various durable minerals, some of which we see in diverse colors.

The map is projected here at a scale of 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) per pixel. [The original image scale is 25.7 centimeters (10.1 inches) per pixel (with 1 x 1 binning); objects on the order of 77 centimeters (30.3 inches) across are resolved.] North is up.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., 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, Washington.

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

ENLARGE

Related

This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 29th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 4, 2012).
More
This map shows the route driven by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity through the 29th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Sept. 4, 2012).
Curiosity Traverse Map Through Sol 29
Two dark, rimless pits are located to the northwest of Ascraeus Mons in the Tharsis volcanic region of Mars.
More
Two dark, rimless pits are located to the northwest of Ascraeus Mons in the Tharsis volcanic region of Mars.
Dark Rimless Pits in the Tharsis Region
Three images of the same location taken at different times on Mars show seasonal activity causing sand avalanches and ripple changes on a Martian dune.
More
Three images of the same location taken at different times on Mars show seasonal activity causing sand avalanches and ripple changes on a Martian dune.
Seasonal Changes in Northern Mars Dune Field
This image acquired on August 1, 2018 by NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the Martian south polar cap full of pits that make it look like Swiss cheese.
More
Swiss Cheese on a Red Planet
Swiss Cheese on a Red Planet
This Oct. 25, 2016, image from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the area where the Europe's Schiaparelli test lander struck Mars, with magnified insets of three sites w...
More
This Oct. 25, 2016, image from the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the area where the Europe's Schiaparelli test lander struck Mars, with magnified insets of three sites where spacecraft components hit the ground. It adds detail not seen in earlier imaging of the site.
Closer Look at Schiaparelli Impact Site on Mars
This sequence of three HiRISE images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the growth of a branching network of troughs carved by thawing carbon dioxide over the span of three Martian years...
More
This sequence of three HiRISE images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the growth of a branching network of troughs carved by thawing carbon dioxide over the span of three Martian years. This process may also form larger radially patterned channel features known as Martian "spiders."
'Baby Spider': Growth of a Martian Trough Network
This map traces where NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove between landing at a site subsequently named "Bradbury Landing," and the position reached during the mission's 130th Martian day, or sol, (De...
More
This map traces where NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove between landing at a site subsequently named "Bradbury Landing," and the position reached during the mission's 130th Martian day, or sol, (Dec. 17, 2012).
Curiosity Traverse Map, Sol 130
This image acquired on October 28, 2018 by NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows that gullies probably formed along the bouldery layers in the upper slopes of this unnamed crater.
More
PIA23020: Multi-Elevation Gullies
Multi-Elevation Gullies
An oblique, northward-looking view based on stereo orbital imaging, shows the location of Opportunity on its journey from Cape York to Solander Point when HiRISE took the new color image.
More
An oblique, northward-looking view based on stereo orbital imaging, shows the location of Opportunity on its journey from Cape York to Solander Point when HiRISE took the new color image.
Location of Opportunity Rover
The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter obtained this spectrum for comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring during the comet's close approach...
More
The Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter obtained this spectrum for comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring during the comet's close approach to Mars.
Mars-Orbiting Spectrometer Shows Dusty Comet's Spectrum
Observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have detected carbon-dioxide snow clouds on Mars and evidence of carbon-dioxide snow falling to the surface.
More
Observations by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have detected carbon-dioxide snow clouds on Mars and evidence of carbon-dioxide snow falling to the surface.
Carbon-Dioxide Snowfall on Mars
The MRO Context Camera, CTX, at Malin Space Science Systems in 2004, before it was delivered and mounted on the spacecraft.
More
The MRO Context Camera, CTX, at Malin Space Science Systems in 2004, before it was delivered and mounted on the spacecraft.
Context Camera for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
This image shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity perched on the edge of "Concepción" crater in Meridiani Planum, Mars.
More
This image shows NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity perched on the edge of "Concepción" crater in Meridiani Planum, Mars.
Opportunity at 'Concepción' Crater, Seen from Orbit
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of a meteoroid impact that was first detected by the agency’s InSight lander using its seismometer. This crater was formed on Aug. 30, 2021.
More
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of a meteoroid impact that was first detected by the agency’s InSight lander using its seismometer. This crater was formed on Aug. 30, 2021.
InSight-Detected Impact in August 2021
Artist's concept of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
More
Artist's concept of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
MRO Artist Concept
This animation shows how NASA's Curiosity rover communicates with Earth via two of NASA's Mars orbiters, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Odyssey, and the European Space Agency's Mars Express....
More
Curiosity Communicates with Help From Its 'Friends'
Curiosity Communicates with Help From Its 'Friends'
The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (Hi-RISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this avalanche plunging down a 1,640-foot-tall (500-meter-tall) cliff on May 29, 2...
More
Avalanche on Mars
HiRISE Catches an Avalanche on Mars
This map traces where NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove between landing at a site subsequently named "Bradbury Landing," and the position reached during the mission's 123rd Martian day, or sol, (De...
More
This map traces where NASA's Mars rover Curiosity drove between landing at a site subsequently named "Bradbury Landing," and the position reached during the mission's 123rd Martian day, or sol, (Dec. 10, 2012).
Curiosity Traverse Map, Sol 123
This artist's concept of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at Mars features one of its instruments -- the Mars Climate Sounder -- in action.
More
This artist's concept of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at Mars features one of its instruments -- the Mars Climate Sounder -- in action.
Mars Climate Sounder (Artist's Concept)
This image covers plains near Aureum Chaos.
More
This image covers plains near Aureum Chaos.
What is This Stuff? (3-D)
Sand dunes often accumulate in the floors of craters. In this region of Lyot Crater, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows a field of classic barchan dunes on Jan. 24, 2018.
More
Blue dune
Once in a Blue Dune
The white speck is NASA’s Perseverance rover in the “South Séítah” area of Mars’ Jezero Crater.
More
The white speck is NASA’s Perseverance rover in the “South Séítah” area of Mars’ Jezero Crater.
HiRISE Spots Perseverance in 'South Séítah'
These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 19, 2014, during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft.
More
These images were taken of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Oct. 19, 2014, during the comet's close flyby of Mars and the spacecraft.
First Resolved Image of a Long-Period Comet's Nucleus
Impact cratering and erosion combine to reveal the composition of the Martian underground by exposing materials from the subsurface.
More
Impact cratering and erosion combine to reveal the composition of the Martian underground by exposing materials from the subsurface.
Clay Minerals in Craters and Escarpments on Mars (Figure 1)
A portion of a trough in the Nili Fossae region of Mars is shown in enhanced color in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Or...
More
Color Image of Nili Fossae Trough, a Candidate MSL Landing Site
Color Image of Layers in Holden Crater, a Candidate MSL Landing Site

You Might Also Like

The agency is asking the NASA community to work together to develop a revised plan that leverages innovation and proven technology.
More
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs
NASA has proven powered, controlled flight is possible on other worlds, just as the Wright brothers proved it was possible on Earth.
More
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends
The agency established the board in May 2023 to evaluate the technical, cost, and schedule plans prior to confirmation of the mission’s design.
More
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
NASA Releases Independent Review's Mars Sample Return Report
A pair of quakes in 2021 sent seismic waves deep into the Red Planet’s core, giving scientists the best data yet on its size and composition.
More
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
NASA InSight Study Provides Clearest Look Ever at Martian Core
Ten sample tubes, capturing an amazing variety of Martian geology, have been deposited on Mars’ surface so they could be studied on Earth in the future.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
NASA's Perseverance Rover Completes Mars Sample Depot
Filled with rock, the sample tube will be one of 10 forming a depot of tubes that could be considered for a journey to Earth by the Mars Sample Return campaign.
More
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface
NASA's Perseverance Rover Deposits First Sample on Mars Surface