Pedestal Crater in Deuteronilus Mensae
HiRISE PICTURE OF THE DAY: 4 FEBRUARY 2026

About a Pedestal Crater

Also visible in Context Camera data, the objective of this observation is to examine a pedestal crater here in Deuteronilus Mensae. A pedestal crater is when the ejecta from an impact settles around the new crater and is more erosion-resistant than the surrounding terrain. Over time, the surrounding terrain erodes much faster than the ejecta.



100,000 Image of Mars!
On 7 October 2025, the HiRISE camera aboard MRO acquired an image of the Syrtis Major plains that marks over 100,000 images of Mars, which is a fabulous milestone!
HiRISE Image of Exocomet 3I/ATLAS
On 2 October 2025, MRO turned away from Mars to image 3I/ATLAS, only the third interstellar object ever observed passing through our solar system!

HiRISE Instrument News
HiRISE Instrument News
Since mid-2023, our RED4 CCD has operated only intermittently due to a hardware issue, creating gaps in the middle of some image products and reducing the color swath to 1 CCD width. We continue to command RED4 in all observations and it returns data approximately 50% of the time

Layered Mesa near Mawrth Vallis
This target comes from the public via HiWish: “Similar HiRISE images of mounds around Chryse Planitia have revealed stunning and complex meter and decameter-scale stratigraphy, indicative of widespread, regional-scale processes. This mound shares characteristics with those landforms, so is important to document.”