False Color Mars Images

NASA's images showcasing Martian terrain captured in false color, revealing diverse geological features and landscapes on Mars.

Ares Vallis/Iani Chaos Border

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Sulci Gordii east of Olympus Mons.

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the floor of Vernal Crater.

Channel with Island in False Color

This spectacular view, taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey, shows the sunlit cliffs and basaltic sand dunes in southern Melas Chasma shows Mars in a way rarely seen: in full, realistic color.

Rampart Crater Ejecta

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater in Utopia Planitia.

This false color image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the complex region at the west end of Candor Chasma.

This is a false color image of Rabe Crater. In this combination of filters blue typically means basaltic sand. Rabe Crater is 108 km (67 miles) across. Craters of similar size often have flat floors. Rabe Crater has some areas of flat floor, but also has a large complex pit occupying a substantial part of the floor. The interior fill of the crater is thought to be layered sediments created by wind and or water action. The pit is eroded into this material. The eroded materials appear to have stayed within the crater forming a large sand sheet with surface dune forms as well as individual dunes where the crater floor is visible. The dunes also appear to be moving from the upper floor level into the pit. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. The Odyssey spacecraft has spent ove

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows a large dune field on the floor of an unnamed crater in Noachis Terra. In this crater winds sweep across the dunes from the lower right corner of the image towards the left. In this color combination dark blue typically indicates dunes comprised of basaltic sands. Orbit Number 67200 Latitude -45.4445 Longitude 36.7847 Instrument VIS Captured 2017-02-06 04 11

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the caldera at the summit of Olympus Mons.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Terra Sabaea. Orbit Number 63009 Latitude -4.68262 Longitude 30.975 Instrument VIS Captured 2016-02-26 22 42

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Nili Patera.

This false color image is located near the head of Chasma Boreale, a large trough in the north polar cap. The floor of the trough is mostly ice free. The linear features in the image are wind driven erosion of the trough floor. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 60947 Latitude 84.2441 Longitude 332.444 Instrument VIS Captured 2015-09-10 03 39

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the flank of Hecates Tholus.

This image shows the sand dunes and layered material common on the floor of Valles Marineris

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. Data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater on the floor of Molesworth Carter.

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows some of the plains of Terra Cimmeria.

White Rock in False Color

Ganges Chasma is part of the Valles Marineris trough system that stretches nearly 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) across the western equatorial region of Mars. This stereo anaglyph is from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. 3D glasses are necessary.

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater in Acidalia Planitia.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the mesa that Escorial Crater is located on.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows an unnamed crater in Isidis Planitia.

Pastel colors swirl across Mars, revealing differences in the composition and nature of the surface in this false-color infrared image taken on May 22, 2009,by the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows windstreaks in Daedalia Planum.

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. Data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the floor of an unnamed crater in Arabia Terra.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of northern Arabia Terra. Arabia Terra is one of the oldest surface regions on Mars and contains a large variety of surface features. The region is dissected with numerous unnamed channels of all sizes and complexities, as well as numerous pits of unknown origin. The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or bl

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Sirenum Fossae. The linear depressions at the top of the image are called graben. Graben are created in regions of extensional tectonic stress, where the bedrock is faulted and pulled apart, allowing linear sections of the surface to drop downward along paired faults. The Sirenum Fossae graben are 2735km (1700 miles) long. Orbit Number 82613 Latitude -32.4226 Longitude 206.01 Instrument VIS Captured 2020-07-29 15 55

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the plains of Terra Sabaea.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Coprates Chasma.

Aureum Chaos: Another View

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the plains of Noachis Terra.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Candor Chasma.

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows some of the plains of Margaritifer Terra.

Antoniadi Crater

This VIS image shows part of the floor of Pollack Crater. First imaged by Mariner 9, the high contrast between the crater floor and the bright feature, led to the informal name white rock for the bright floor feature. More recent images have shown that the floor of Pollack Crater is darker then normal in that part of the crater, which has produced the high contrast. THEMIS IR images of the feature indicate a composition produced by wind deposition, rather than water. Additionally, the deposit does not appear to be solid rock. The deposit is most likely a combination of dust and a more solid material. Taken together, the Mariner 9 image of white rock didn't hold up under careful study, it's not white and it's not rock! The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 62872

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Briault Crater located in Tyrrhena Terra. Orbit Number 63007 Latitude -10.2464 Longitude 89.4098 Instrument VIS Captured 2016-02-26 18 43

Growing Library of Mars Spectrometer Images

This image shows the bright deposit remaining on the floor of Pollack

This image is located between Terra Sabaea and Isidis Planitia basin. Blue tones in this band configuration indicate basaltic sands. The sands are more prevalent in the plains at the upper frame part of the image, and only occur in limited number of depressions in the bottom half of the image. The underlying reason for the difference may related to sand abundance or sand mobility by the wind. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 61560 Latitude 18.3868 Longitude 79.0246 Instrument VIS Captured 2015-10-30 14 44

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Tyrrhena Terra. Orbit Number 77663 Latitude -18.5098 Longitude 91.5468 Instrument VIS Captured 2019-06-18 01 49

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Syrtis Major Planum.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows a small section of Nili Fossae. The linear depression at the top of the image is one of the Nili Fossae graben. Dark blue in this filter combination indicates basaltic sand. Orbit Number 69580 Latitude 25.2782 Longitude 80.2868 Instrument VIS Captured 2017-08-21 06 55

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple many ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Aureum Chaos.

This image shows part of eastern Hesperia Planum

Color View of a 'Rat' Hole Trail Inside 'Endurance'

This image shows part of Eos Chasma

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of a crater in southern Terra Cimmeria. The dark blue feature on the right side of the image is a large sand dune complex. Dark blue in this false color combination indicates basaltic sands. Dunes at high latitudes near the polar caps are affected by seasonal frost and ice. The interactions with frost/ice reduces the amount of movement of sand grains within the dunes. This changes the morphology of near polar dunes when compared to dunes at lower latitudes where ice/frost do not occur as frequently. This crater's latitude is 68 degrees south of the equator. Orbit Number 67545 Latitude -68.405 Longitude 163.524 Instrument VIS Captured 2017-03-06 14 17

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Ophir Planum.

This VIS image shows a crater located in Utopia Planitia. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 62670 Latitude 40.0367 Longitude 86.9845 Instrument VIS Captured 2016-01-30 00 51

This image from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft was acquired of Candor Chasma within Valles Marineris and shows the effects of erosion on a sequence of dramatically layered rocks.

Outcrops in Coprates Chasma

Hemingway crater is seen in this color view of Mercury's surface as seen by NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft. Hemingway is the 130-km (81-mile) diameter crater with a relatively brown floor and small patch of dark blue in its center.

Dune Field in Nili Pateria

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows depressions in the surface of southern Noachis Terra.

This sweeping mosaic of Saturn's moon Enceladus provides broad regional context for the ultra-sharp, close-up views NASA's Cassini spacecraft acquired minutes earlier, during its flyby on Aug. 11, 2008.

Oyama Crater dominates the top of this VIS image. Oyama Crater is located in Arabia Terra, just west of Mawrth Vallis. The two craters at the bottom of the image are unnamed. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 62050 Latitude 23.3269 Longitude 340.286 Instrument VIS Captured 2015-12-09 23 15

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the dune field on the floor of Proctor Crater.

These two views of Jupiter obtained by NASA's Galileo spacecraft show evidence of strikingly different stratospheric hazes between the polar regions and low or mid latitudes. The Great Red Spot shows in one mosaic taken on June 26, 1996.

This VIS image shows a small section of Mawrth Valles and several surrounding craters located in Arabia Terra. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 61164 Latitude 21.6892 Longitude 342.969 Instrument VIS Captured 2015-09-28 00 06

This mosaic of images shows layers of ancient sediment on a boulder-sized rock called Strathdon, as seen by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera on the end of the robotic arm on NASA's Curiosity rover. The images were taken on July 10, 2019, the 2,462nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The images were acquired from about 4 inches (10 centimeters) away and processed to adjust brightness and remove blemishes.

This archival image mosaic from NASA's Voyager 1 shows Io's south polar region. The South Pole is near the terminator (line between daylight and night) at right center. Haemus Mons, a 10-km high (32,000 foot) mountain is at bottom.

Combining two images, this mosaic shows a close-up view of the rock target named Yeehgo from the SuperCam instrument on NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. The component images were taken by SuperCam's Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) on March 7, 2021 (the 16th Martian day, or sol, of Perseverance's mission on Mars). To be compatible with the rover's software, Yeehgo is an alternative spelling of Yéigo, the Navajo word for diligent. The target is 10.9 feet (3.325 meters) from the rover. Each of the two images in the mosaic shows a field of view 2.5 inches (6.2 centimeters) in diameter. Perseverance's Navigation Cameras (Nav Cam) and Mastcam-Z instrument also took images of that area at the same time to provide multiple views of the rock target, as seen in the annotated version of this image. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way

Eruption of Pele

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Nili Fossae. The linear depressions crossing the center of the image are graben, a landform created by the movement of blocks of material downward between paired faults. Orbit Number 69867 Latitude 18.6065 Longitude 76.3487 Instrument VIS Captured 2017-09-13 22 23

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Coprates Chasma.

'Escher' Rock

Crater Ejecta

First Color HiRISE Image of Mars

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows small dunes of the floor of Capen Crater in Terra Sabea.

Mercury's Wings

Hebes Mensa

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of the floor of Rabe Crater. Located in Noachis Terra, Rabe Crater is 108 km (67 miles) across. Dunes cover the majority of this image of Rabe Crater. As the dunes are created by wind action the forms of the dunes record the wind direction. Dunes will have a long low angle component and a short high angle side. The steep side is called the slip face. The wind blows up the long side of the dune. In this VIS image the slip faces are illuminated more than the longer side. In this part of the crater the winds were generally moving from the lower right corner of the image towards the upper left. Craters of similar size as Rabe Crater often have flat floors. Rabe Crater has some areas of flat floor, but als

NASA's Cassini orbiter has revealed the possible presence of a ring of debris surrounding the ancient heavily cratered surface of Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. The bluish material in this image is believed to be fresh ice.

In this movie, put together from false-color images taken by the New Horizons Ralph instrument as the spacecraft flew past Jupiter in early 2007, show ammonia clouds (appearing as bright blue areas) as they form and disperse.

Rover's Wheel Churns Up Bright Martian Soil (False Color)

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows the rim of an unnamed crater on the floor of the much larger Schroeter Crater. These craters are located in Terra Sabaea. The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the ful

This false color mosaic from NASA's rover Opportunity shows a north-facing outcrop, informally named 'Greeley Haven.' This site optimizes Opportunity's solar energy as winter approaches.

IDL TIFF file

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. Data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the plains of Margaritifer Terra.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. Data from different filters can be combined in ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the rim and ejecta of an unnamed crater northwest of Hesperia Planum.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the plains of Terra Cimmeria.

It Don't Mean a Thing

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the interior of Coprates Chasma.

This VIS image shows Bonestell Crater located in Acidalia Planitia. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 61077 Latitude 41.8282 Longitude 329.569 Instrument VIS Captured 2015-09-20 20 17

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the northern part of Terby Crater.

False-Color View of a 'Rat' Hole Trail

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Today's false color image shows part of Terra Sabaea. The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, b

The THEMIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Ganges Chasma.

False-color Dalmatian Terrain

This false color image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the interior of Ganges Chasma.

This set of global, color mosaics of Saturn's moon Tethys was produced from images taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft during its first ten years exploring the Saturn system.

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple many ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of Coprates Chasma.

Blue Monday

This false-color infrared image from NASA's Mars Odyssey was acquired over the region of Ophir and Candor Chasma in Valles Marineris.

Psychedelic Crater Rim

converted PNM file

The large crater at the bottom of today's image is called McLaughlin Crater. It is located west of Mawrth Vallis, on the margin between Arabia Terra and Chryse Planitia. The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. These false color images may reveal subtle variations of the surface not easily identified in a single band image. Orbit Number 62100 Latitude 22.4939 Longitude 337.635 Instrument VIS Captured 2015-12-14 02 05

The THEMIS VIS camera contains 5 filters. The data from different filters can be combined in multiple ways to create a false color image. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part part of Aureum Chaos.

The Pantheon in 3-D

The Mysterious Martian Mountains of Mitchel

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