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HiRISE

HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) is a powerful camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It captures high-resolution images of the Martian surface, allowing scientists to observe features as small as a kitchen table, aiding in the selection of landing sites and the study of Mars' geology.

Source: science.nasa.gov

APODs including "HiRISE"

Layers in Aureum Chaos

04/04/2008

Layers in Aureum Chaos
Image Credit: NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

At first glance these undulating shapes in shades of blue might look like waves on an ocean. Seen here in a false-color image from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera, they are actually layered rock outcrops found in Aureum Chaos. The larger Aureum Chaos region is a chaotic jumble of eroded terrain in the eastern part of Mars' immense canyon Valles Marineris. Distinct layers composing these outcrops could have been laid down by dust or volcanic ash settling from the atmosphere, sand carried by martian winds, or sediments deposited on the floor of an ancient lake. This close-up view of the otherwise red planet spans about 4 kilometers, a distance you might walk over flat ground in less than an hour.