Old Salt
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Old Salt
ESP_044502_1735  Science Theme: Composition and Photometry
What is that “purplish” colored stuff (in HiRISE infrared-red-blue color) with the polygonal fractures in this observation? Scientists think it contains chlorides, like sodium chloride or table salt, or maybe chloride of calcium or magnesium.

These salts can be deposited during the evaporation or water in lakes or playas. These deposits are billions of years old, so it is truly old salt, not a fish tale.

Written by: Alfred McEwen (marration: Tre Gibbs)  (23 March 2016)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_008780_1735.
 
Acquisition date
24 January 2016

Local Mars time
15:12

Latitude (centered)
-6.423°

Longitude (East)
131.928°

Spacecraft altitude
262.2 km (162.9 miles)

Original image scale range
53.8 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~161 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
12.1°

Phase angle
47.9°

Solar incidence angle
56°, with the Sun about 34° above the horizon

Solar longitude
99.3°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  42.7°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (299MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (179MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (147MB)
non-map           (140MB)

IRB color
map projected  (53MB)
non-map           (168MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (301MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (275MB)

RGB color
non map           (154MB)
ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

BONUS
4K (TIFF)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.