Martian Geological Features

High-resolution images of Mars showing various geological formations, including craters, ridges, and the notable Valles Marineris canyon system.

Sirenum Troughs

This MOC image shows remnants of layered materials near the west rim of South Crater, Mars. The composition of these layered rocks is unknown -- are they the remains of sedimentary rocks or accumulations of dust and ice

This image of Miranda, obtained by NASA's Voyager 2 on approach in 1986, shows an unusual 'chevron' figure and regions of distinctly differing terrain on the Uranian moon.

This image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a central peak that is surrounded by a ring-like graben feature and relatively flat terrain.

Small Yardangs

The so-called 'Face on Mars' can be seen slightly above center and to the right in this NASA Mars Odyssey image. This 3-km long knob was first imaged by NASA's Viking spacecraft in the 1970's and to some resembled a face carved into the rocks of Mars.

This NASA Mars Odyssey image shows Dao Vallis, a large outflow channel that starts on the southeast flank of a large volcano called Hadriaca Patera and runs for 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles) southwest into the Hellas impact basin.

Small Volcano

Layers and Exhuming Crater

This is a frame from an animation that flips back and forth between views taken in 2010 and 2014 of a Martian sand dune at the edge of Mount Sharp, documenting dune activity.

This image covers part of the Athabasca Valles flood lava plain, the youngest large lava flow on the surface of Mars as observed by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Today's VIS image shows a small part of the south polar cap. The layering of the cap is easy to see. The layers record the seasonal deposition of dust and ice over the course of 1000's of years. This image was taken during summer at the pole. Orbit Number 74904 Latitude -85.4168 Longitude 184.015 Instrument VIS Captured 2018-11-02 20 21

Approximate Location of Spirit

A crater on the southwest rim of Metius B crater.

This MOC image shows a flow knob of light-toned, layered rock exposed by erosion in the Iani Chaos region of Mars

North Nilosyrtis Mesas

Inverted Channels

South Polar Terrain

Lava Flow and Impact Crater

Small, Fresh Impact Crater With Dark Ejecta

This view from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows terrain on Saturn's moon Dione that is entirely lit by reflected light from Saturn, called Saturnshine.

This daytime infrared image shows a channel system draining from the highlands down to Isidis Planitia.

Does this observation from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a possible proto-pedestal crater This crater has a ring trough, but the inner circle around the crater does not appear significantly elevated.

Mass Wasting in Craters near the South Pole of Callisto

After traveling more than 1.5 billion kilometers (948 million miles), NASA's Magellan spacecraft was inserted into orbit around Venus on Aug. 10, 1990.

Changes Over a Martian Year -- New Dark Slope Streaks in Lycus Sucli

Most craters are round, because a high-velocity impact acts like a powerful explosion that expands in all directions. This crater is an exception because the northern rim is almost perfectly straight. One possibility is that there was a zone of joints or faults in the crust that existed before the impact. When the impact happened, the crater formed along the straight line of these faults. Something similar happened to Meteor Crater in Arizona. Our image doesn't show any faults, but they could be beneath the surface. Perhaps some sort of uneven collapse changed the shape of the crater. There are piles of material on the crater's floor, especially in the northwest and northeast corners. If those piles fell down from the rim, why did it happen there and not in other places This crater is near the size where larger craters start to show wall slumping and terraces, so this type of collapse could be occurring unevenly. Our image reveals the crisp detail of the crater rim, with individual bou

Landforms in East Candor

The sand dunes in this image surround the northwestern half of the central peak of this crater

Medusae Sulci Yardangs

Mound on Mars

Impact Crater

Valley and Surrounding Terrain Adjacent to Schiaparelli Crater - High Resolution Image

The south pole of the giant asteroid Vesta reveals cliffs that are several miles or kilometers high, deep grooves, and craters. This oblique view is from NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

The surface beneath the south polar cap as seen by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft at the highest latitude in Chasma Australe.

This MOC image shows a portion of a dust-covered plain northwest of Jovis Tholus which is host to several overlapping, ancient lava flows and a channel containing streamlined features indicative of fluid flow

From Mars, With Love

Raditladi's Rings

This image of asteroid Vesta, from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, calculated from a shape model, shows a tilted view of the topography of the south polar region. This perspective removes the overall curvature of Vesta, as if the giant asteroid were flat and not

This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) shows an impact crater looking amusingly like a tadpole because of the valley that was carved by water that used to fill it. It is often difficult to differentiate between inlet and outlet channels, but water always flows downhill. In this particular case, we can infer that water is flowing outward because we have the necessary terrain-height information. When studying these images in detail, scientists can gain a better understanding of the strength of the flooding water that carved the channels, and better understand the history of water activity in this region of Mars.

There are many knob formations is the southeastern Acidalia region of Mars. All show a hilltop crest except one which has a summit crater that resembles a cone volcano in this image captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Inside a Crater

Crater Shows Evidence for Water

Pedestal Crater and Yardangs

Martian Gullies

The Tyre multi-ring Structure on Europa

This image was obtained by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on July 6, 2018 from an altitude of about 72 miles (116 kilometers). The center of this picture is located at about 44.1 degrees south latitude and 249.1 degrees east longitude.

Filled/Eroded Craters

Photographic Mosaic of Saturn

This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft contains the margin of the south polar cap (bottom half) and dunes in an unnamed crater (top half). Part of the crater is covered by ice, which may affect the winds creating these dunes.

Gusev Crater

Layers and a Dust Devil in Melas Chasma

A large sandsheet with surface dune forms is shown in today's image of Aonia Terra.

These images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft, located in asteroid Vesta's Caparronia quadrangle, in Vesta's northern hemisphere, demonstrate a special analytical technique, which results in shadowed areas of Vesta's surface becoming illuminated.

A Sharp Look at Robert E

Lycus Sulci Slope Streaks

This highest-resolution image from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft shows how erosion and faulting has sculpted this portion of Pluto's icy crust into rugged badlands.

Dunes of Herschel

Small fresh crater in Palitzsch B, with a shape and ejecta pattern typical of an oblique impact.

This image by NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows a region of northern Tempe Terra. Patchy water-ice clouds cover portions of the low-lying canyon at the top (north) of this image.

Impact craters are rare on Titan. Until recently only seven had been identified definitely on Titan. Dunes, visible as dark lines on the left of the image, have been swept toward the crater by the winds of Titan.

Compositional Medley

'Humphrey' Like You've Never Seen It

Ice Clouds in Color IR

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows a relatively fresh crater with bright deposits exposed in the crater wall that streak downslope on the giant asteroid Vesta.

This image acquired by NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) from data collected on February 12, 2000 shows two islands, Miquelon and Saint Pierre, located south of Newfoundland, Canada.

The anaglyph is helpful to see that the dark streaks really do occur on a slope in this image taken by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor 1999. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This MOC image shows a group of impact craters in Aonia Planum, Mars. Remarkably, two of the craters are approximately equal in size, however, they clearly differ in age

This image from NASA's Dawn spacecraft shows craters with both sharp and smooth crater rims in asteroid Vesta's southern hemisphere. Detailed structure is seen more readily in the the image with a smaller view at right.

Dunes and Dust Devil Tracks

Looking Into the Dark

Boulder Trails in Menelaus Crater

This MOC image shows the contact between a group of yardangs, tapered ridges formed by the removal of relatively easily-eroded material (e.g., sedimentary rock) and a concentration of dark-toned windblown sand on the floor of a crater in Terra Sabaea

Meridiani Rocks

This MOC image shows dark sand dunes superposed on layered, light-toned outcrops -- interpreted to be sedimentary rocks -- in Melas Chasma. Melas Chasma is part of the enormous Valles Marineris trough system

This is an image showing part of Isla Isabella in the western Galapagos Islands. It was taken by the L-band radar in HH polarization from the Spaceborne Imaging Radar C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar on the 40th orbit of NASAs space shuttle Endeavour.

This 360-degree vertical projection was assembled from images taken by the navigation camera on NASA's Mars Exporation Rover Opportunity shows terrain surrounding the position where the rover spent its 3,000th Martian day.

Crommelin Crater #2

This view from NASA's Dawn mission shows where ice has been detected in the northern wall of Ceres' Juling Crater, which is in almost permanent shadow. Dawn acquired the picture with its framing camera on Aug. 30, 2016, and it was processed with the help of NASA Ames Stereo Pipeline (ASP), to estimate the slope of the cliff.

Small Volcano in Tempe Terra

Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) Spirit Landing Site

Alba Patera Surface

Crater Close-up on Phoebe

Opportunity Rocks!

This pair of THEMIS infrared images shows the so-called 'face on Mars' landform viewed during both the day and night.

This frame from an animated sequence of NASA's Cassini images shows methane clouds moving above the large methane sea on Saturn's moon Titan known as Ligeia Mare.

Opportunity's View on Sols 1803 and 1804 (Vertical)

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity used its microscopic imager to get this view of the surface of a rock called 'Block Island' during the 1,963rd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission on Mars (Aug. 1, 2009).

The Trench Throws a Dirt Clod at Scientists

Xanthe Valley

Two of Guatemala's active volcanoes, Fuego (upper left) and Pacaya (lower right) were erupting when the ASTER nighttime thermal infrared image was acquired on March 5, 2021. Pacaya's most recent eruption began Wednesday, with several lava flows and ash eruptions; surrounding villages were ordered evacuated. Since mid-February, Fuego continued to produce sporadic emissions of ash from its active central crater. In the ASTER image, the hottest areas are white, and coldest are black. The image covers an area of 29.8 by 40.3 km, and is centered at 14.4 degrees north, 90.8 degrees west.

This set of images from NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows the so-called 'face on Mars' landform located in the northern plains of Mars.

South Polar Topography (MOLA)

Sappinia is an amoeba (a single-celled living organism), found in the environment. There are two known species of Sappinia: Sappinia diploidea and Sappinia pedata. This amoeba causes amoebic encephalitis, which is an infection of the brain. Worldwide, only one case of amoebic encephalitis due to Sappinia infection has been reported.

Europa's Pwyll Crater

Crater in Sabaeus

Mozart's Composition

Spirit's Travels During its First 238 Martian Days

Eumenides Dorsum Yardangs

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