Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

[remcook]

of course there is

my point was that the picture you showed is an altitude map derived from MOLA data i assume. This map will not be updated, despite the higher resolution pictures to be taken by MRO.

sorry just being nitpicky

[Astronuc]

I would hope higher resolution maps will be available from MRO's data.

JPL has developed some coarse 3D representations from previous data.

BTW Rem, I didn't think you were being nitpicky. 

 

[Astronuc]

Google maps for Mars - based on the image previously posted in this thread.

http://mars.google.com

Image from NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center and Arizona State University.

 

[Astronuc]

NASA's New Mars Orbiter Returns Test Images  03.24.06

 

The first test images of Mars from NASA's newest spacecraft provide a tantalizing preview of what the orbiter will reveal when its main science mission begins next fall.

Three cameras on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter were pointed at Mars at 8:36 p.m. PST Thursday, while the spacecraft collected 40 minutes of engineering test data. The cameras are the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, the Context Camera and the Mars Color Imager.

"These high-resolution images of Mars are thrilling, and unique given the early morning time-of-day. The final orbit of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will be over Mars in the mid-afternoon, like Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey," said Alfred McEwen, University of Arizona, Tucson, principal investigator for the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/news/mro-20060324.html

 

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/pia08013.html

A full-resolution portion of the first image of Mars taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/pia08014.html

[remcook]

MCS is working as well. I saw some uncalibrated scans of mars. There will probably be a press release soon, showing Mars in the infrared

[Astronuc]

New Mars Craft Sends Back First Detailed Images

New images from a low-altitude Mars satellite are giving scientists some of their most detailed glimpses yet of the surface of the Red planet.

The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera flying aboard        NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has beamed to Earth its first image of the Martian surface, revealing in never-seen-before clarity Ius Chasma, a complex floor that is part of the giant canyon system Valles Marineris.

Within moments of the image being beamed back, researchers said they had identified many boulders, craters and channels.

"We are elated at the sharpness of the image, revealing such fine detail in the landscape," said Alfred McEwen of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory.

[Astronuc]

Some high resolution mapping! 
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/multimedia/mro-20060929b.html

The high resolution camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured its first image of Mars in the mapping orbit, demonstrating the full resolution capability, on Sept. 29, 2006. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) acquired this first image at 8:16 AM (Pacific Time). With the spacecraft at an altitude of 280 kilometers (174 miles), the image scale is 25 centimeters per pixel (10 inches per pixel). If a person were located on this part of Mars, he or she would just barely be visible in this image.

The image covers a small portion of the floor of Ius Chasma, one branch of the giant Valles Marineris system of canyons. The image illustrates a variety of processes that have shaped the Martian surface. There are bedrock exposures of layered materials, which could be sedimentary rocks deposited in water or from the air. Some of the bedrock has been faulted and folded, perhaps the result of large-scale forces in the crust or from a giant landslide. The image resolves rocks as small as small as 90 centimeters (3 feet) in diameter. It includes many dunes or ridges of windblown sand.

[remcook]

absolutely stunning images, one of which is of Opportunity rover and Victoria. Absolutely amazing!

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/press/opportunity/20061006a.html

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/HiBlog/

[Skyjim]

YEAH!   Aren't those gorgeous?

We're in for another feast, folks!

Jim

[Astronuc]

The pictures are just amazing!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_enl_1160148730/img/1.jpg

BBC's article on it - Mars orbiter looks down on rover
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5413754.stm

Nasa's new orbiter at Mars has taken a spectacular picture of the Opportunity rover sitting on a crater's rim.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrived at the Red Planet in March and has only recently moved into a prime position to begin science investigations.

Its view of Victoria Crater will help US space agency researchers decide where to send Opportunity to make ground observations.

Imaged from a height of 275km, the 2.3m-wide rover appears as a tiny dot.

"This is a tremendous example of how our Mars missions in orbit and on the surface are designed to reinforce each other and expand our ability to explore and discover," said Doug McCuistion, the director of Nasa's Mars exploration programme in Washington.

Opportunity has been making its way to Victoria Crater for the past 21 Earth months - about half the length of time the robot has spent on the Red Planet.

The crater has high walls with layers of exposed rock that should reveal significant new information about the planet's geological past.

[remcook]

Amazing new images of Spirit and other cool landscapes into extreme detail

keep an eye on www.planetary.org/blog (always a good source of info anyway)