Planetary News: Mars (2006)
Color Images and Sharp Details from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
By Emily Lakdawalla
April 7, 2006
Newly released images from the High Resolution Imaging Science
Experiment (HiRISE) aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal fantastic
details, and the promise of a long and productive mission. However, the
vast size of the HiRISE images present a processing challenge for the camera
team.
The first color image released from HiRISE represents a portion of the
first HiRISE black-and-white image, which was released last week. The
image shows Mars in un-Mars-like yellow and blue colors, because it does
not show Mars as the human eye can see it. Rather, the color view is
shifted to longer wavelengths of infrared, red, and green, rather than
the red, green, and blue employed in human color vision. Examining Mars'
surface in infrared wavelengths allows scientists to pick out areas that
may have interesting mineral composition for followup study by the Compact
Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM). One such interesting
spot is a greenish-tinged hill to the right of center of this first image.
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This is the first color image of Mars from the HiRISE camera on Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter. It was captured on March 24, 2006 with an original resolution of 2.49
meters per pixel. The enlarged version is only one third the full resolution,
which is available at the Planetary Photojournal.
A greenish hill just to the right of center in this image might be one such
future target for CRISM. Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona |
Another newly released image shows an area along the southern rim of the
giant Argyre impact basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars. The image
demonstrates both the diversity of terrains that one HiRISE image can contain
and the difficulty of managing the HiRISE data. At its original resolution,
the single image spans 10,040 pixels wide by 26,011 pixels high -- and
at that, it represents only half of the full resolution of which the camera
is actually capable. Automating the processing of the huge quantity of
such large images is the current top priority of the HiRISE team, according
to a University of Arizona statement released today. "The images are
wonderful," HiRISE team leader Alfred McEwen said in the statement. "We're learning
a great deal
about how to best acquire and process these giant images from our very
complicated camera."
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HiRISE view of Argyre Impact Basin Rim, Mars
One of the first images from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter overlaps the rim of Argyre, an ancient impact
basin in the southern hemisphere of Mars. The image was actually captured
just minutes after sunrise, so most of it was in twilight. Higher-elevation
hills in the southern part of the image appear to be littered with
dark boulders and dunes; lower-elevation plains appear to be much
smoother, with subdued round features among mottled terrain. The enlarged
version is only a tenth the full resolution image, which is available
at the Planetary
Photojournal. The entire image spans 29.47 by 76.44 kilometers
(18.31 by 47.5 miles). Credit: NASA / JPL
/ University of Arizona |
To permit you to fully appreciate the detail available in the HiRISE images,
following are a context map of the Argyre basin image and five detailed
views presented at their full resolution of approximately 3 meters per
pixel. |
Circular hollows
A detail from one of the first images from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows circular hollows -- perhaps buried impact craters? -- in the smooth floor below the rim of Argyre impact basin. This image spans about 750 meters square.
Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
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Curved lineaments
A detail from one of the first images from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows subdued, parallel, curved lineaments of unknown origin on the smooth floor below the rim of Argyre impact basin. This image spans about 750 meters square.
Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
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Fresh crater and ejecta
A detail from one of the first images from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a relatively fresh impact crater with a sharp rim and a pronounced ejecta blanket extending outward from it. This image spans about 750 by 1,500 meters.
Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
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Branching channels
A detail from one of the first images from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter shows fine, branching channels adjacent to the mountainous
rim of the Argyre impact basin. This image spans about 750 meters square.
Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
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Dunefields and boulders
A detail from one of the first images from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows dunefields and dark boulders in the subdued mountains above the rim of Argyre impact basin. This image spans about 750 meters square.
Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona
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To learn more about the first images returned from HiRISE, please read "Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter: HiRISE Camera Returns First Test Images."
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