Tag Archive for 'Nili Fossae'

Deposits of impact glass have been preserved in Martian craters, including Alga Crater, shown here. In color coding based on analysis of data from the CRISM instrument on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, green indicates the presence of glass; blues are pyroxene; reds are olivine. This view shows Alga Crater’s central peak, which is about 3 miles (5 km) wide within the 12-mile (19-km) diameter of this southern-hemisphere crater. The information from CRISM is shown over a terrain model and image based on observations by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. The vertical dimension is exaggerated by a factor of two. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / JHUAPL / University of Arizona.

Scientists Detect Large Deposits of Impact Glass on Mars

Jun 9, 2015 by News Staff

Glasses formed by asteroid impacts are an important target to search for signs of ancient life on Mars, but until now they have not been detected on the...

The Nili Fossae system, part of which is shown in this image, is an area of great geological interest near the giant Isidis impact basin, northeast of the Syrtis Major volcanic province. The system contains numerous troughs, one of which can be seen crossing the lower left of this image. On the plateau above, several depressions can be seen, some of them extending into the trough. A large, 55 km-diameter impact crater with a central pit can be seen on the right. This image was acquired by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on the Mars Express on 16 October 2014. North is to the right, east is up. Image credit: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

ESA’s Mars Express Returns New Images of Nili Fossae

Jan 22, 2015 by News Staff

New images from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft show Nili Fossae – one of the most exciting regions on Mars. The Nili Fossae system, part of which...