On 7 October 2025, the HiRISE camera aboard MRO acquired this image of the Syrtis Major plains, about 85 kilometers from NASA’s Perseverance rover in Jezero Crater. This marks over 100,000 HiRISE images of Mars, which is a fabulous milestone!

The objective of this observation is to better resolve sand dunes and the rocky material underneath them. These dark, eroded rocks may be the source for some of these Syrtis Major sand dunes. Our image was suggested by a high school student enrolled in the Jefferson County Executive Internship program in Colorado in 2023, one of many public outreach programs the HiRISE Team engages in.

To celebrate this accomplishment and the fantastic geology of the scene, students and staff in the HiRISE Photogrammetry lab constructed this digital terrain model. This oblique image highlights the hummocky mounds of the plains that border Jezero Crater, which are among the oldest on Mars. Wind has redistributed the dark sand particles and this blowing sand has dislodged much of the surface dust allowing us to see diverse terrain colors in this false-color HiRISE cutout.

DTM Flyovers
These short, non-narrated flyovers were made by our DTM lab.
Flyover 1
Flyover 2
Flyover 3
Flyover 4
Flyover 5

Written by: Matthew Chojnacki  (16 December 2025)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_081600_1980.