Photo: NASA/JPL/UArizona
Some time ago, we’ve decided to give our neighboring planet Mars more than the customary 15 minutes under the spotlight. Using the many images sent back by the HiRISE camera in orbit around the planet, we’re trying to create a comprehensive picture of the strange place some humans might be soon visiting, hopefully during our lifetime.
In orbit around the planet since 2006, the HiRISE sent back so far around 70,000 photos of the planet, almost all of them incredible instances of a place that has long fascinated us, humans.
The general impression is that HiRISE, being a scientific instrument that cost $40 million to make, can only be used by its operators, in this case NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the University of Arizona.
That impression is, of course, correct, but these guys are willing to share and have been accepting suggestions on what regions of Mars to immortalize on digital film. From time to time, if they find the suggestion interesting enough, they might even do it, like they did with the pic we used as the main photo of this piece.
We’re looking at a portion of an unnamed crater in the Arabia Terra region, one which contains rhythmically layered bedrock that seems to indicate cyclic deposition.
The area was deemed of being of interest because, first, cyclic deposition of sediments could unravel some of the mysteries Mars still keeps out of our reach. Secondly, the “member of the public” who requested this image “is interested in these deposits and will study them further by making a digital elevation model and measuring the thickness of the layers,” thus helping scientists with their research.
So, if you happen to have a great location in mind for NASA to study sometime during this brave new year, you can head over to this link and have your say (registration or an account required).
The general impression is that HiRISE, being a scientific instrument that cost $40 million to make, can only be used by its operators, in this case NASA, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the University of Arizona.
That impression is, of course, correct, but these guys are willing to share and have been accepting suggestions on what regions of Mars to immortalize on digital film. From time to time, if they find the suggestion interesting enough, they might even do it, like they did with the pic we used as the main photo of this piece.
We’re looking at a portion of an unnamed crater in the Arabia Terra region, one which contains rhythmically layered bedrock that seems to indicate cyclic deposition.
The area was deemed of being of interest because, first, cyclic deposition of sediments could unravel some of the mysteries Mars still keeps out of our reach. Secondly, the “member of the public” who requested this image “is interested in these deposits and will study them further by making a digital elevation model and measuring the thickness of the layers,” thus helping scientists with their research.
So, if you happen to have a great location in mind for NASA to study sometime during this brave new year, you can head over to this link and have your say (registration or an account required).
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