NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Martian Dust Devil with Track and Shadow

This telescopic view from orbit around Mars catches a Martian dust devil in action in the planet's southern hemisphere.

Oblique View of Victoria Crater

This image of Victoria Crater in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter at more of a sideways angle than earlier orbital images of this crater.

Branched Features on the Floor of Antoniadni Crater

In this image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the dark branched features in the floor of Antoniadi Crater look like giant ferns, or fern casts.

Weather Movie, Mars South Polar Region, March-April 2009

This movie shows the southern high-latitudes region of Mars from March 19 through April 14, 2009, a period when regional dust storms occurred along the retreating edge of carbon-dioxide frost in the seasonal south polar cap.

Weather Movie, Mars Southern Hemisphere, March-April 2009

This movie shows the full southern hemisphere of Mars from March 19 through April 14, 2009, a period when regional dust storms occurred along the retreating edge of carbon-dioxide frost in the seasonal south polar cap.

Starburst Spider

Mars' seasonal cap of carbon dioxide ice has eroded many beautiful terrains as it sublimates (goes directly from ice to vapor) every spring.

The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

Every winter Mars' polar region is covered with a layer of seasonal carbon dioxide ice (dry ice). In the spring jets of gas carry dust from the ground up through openings in the ice.

Sand Dunes and Ripples in Proctor Crater, Mars

Martian Moon Deimos in High Resolution

First Observation of Columnar Jointing on Mars

Carbonate-Olivine Relationship in Nile Fossae, Mars

Four Types of Deposits From Wet Conditions on Early Mars

Context of Carbonate Rocks in Heavily Eroded Martian Terrain

Known Locations of Carbonate Rocks on Mars

Mineral Spectra from Nili Fossae, Mars

Elysium Planitia, Mars -- Fractured Mounds in Stereo

This stereo view shows fractured mounds on the southern edge of Elysium Planitia on Mars.

Periodic Layering in Martian Sedimentary Rocks, Oblique View

This oblique view of periodic layering in Martian sedimentary layers was derived from three-dimensional modeling based on a stereo pair of images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Periodic Layering in Martian Sedimentary Rocks

This image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows sedimentary-rock layering in which a series of layers are all approximately the same thickness.

Periodic Layering in Becquerel Crater, Mars

Rhythmic bedding in sedimentary bedrock within Becquerel crater on Mars is suggested by the patterns in this image from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

A Gem of a Find

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed Martian rocks containing a hydrated mineral similar to opal.