Who hates even more than ten years ago? This elegant crater on Mars.
Both of these images were taken with the HiRISE (High Resolution Image Science Experiment) camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and show how the surface of Mars changes over time – in this case, as a result of thermal erosion. .
The first of these images was taken in 2011 and the other in December 2020, at almost the same season, and they show some changes. There are color differences that are the result of varying amounts of clear freezing over darker red earth, according to the HiRISE team.
You can also see that some of the “blobby” properties have changed shape due to the heat of the sun causing sublimation – when a solid turns directly into a gas, exceeding the melting point.
This thermal contraction has enlarged the “mouth” of the face, and the “nose” – which was made up of two circular depressions in 2011 – has now become larger and merged.
(NASA / JPL / UArizona)
MRO is one of NASA’s oldest and longest surviving spacecraft. The mission arrived in 2005, reached Mars in 2006 and has been tracking Mars ever since. HiRISE is the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet, and has provided an abundance of stunningly detailed images of Mars features.
Some of our favorites over the years have been going on, dark currents that may or may not be the glossy materials going to the surface, images of our own spaceship and ropes on it. the surface of Mars, and much more.
But one key benefit of a long-lasting spacecraft is being able to track changes in what is being monitored. The HiRISE team has been reporting on this “smile face” feature for over a decade, which means we now have good side-by-side comparisons of surface changes, just before our eyes.
“By measuring these changes during the Martian year scientists will understand the annual deposition and removal of pole frosts, and by observing these sites over long periods of time will help us understand on longer-term climate trends on the Red Planet, ”wrote HiRISE Co-Researcher Ross Beyer.