HiRISE | Light Toned Materials and Plains in South Meridiani (MSL) (PSP_009497

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Light Toned Materials and Plains in South Meridiani (MSL)
PSP_009497_1770 Science Theme: Future Exploration/Landing Sites

This image is one of the proposed landing sites for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) and is located in southern Meridiani Planum (to the south of the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity landing site).

The image shows fairly smooth plains with small ripples, suggesting that wind is an active process here. The landing site is on the smooth hematite-bearing plains, and the “go-to” science target would include phyllosilicates (clay-minerals) that the CRISM instrument has detected in the mounds to the south of the landing ellipse (which begin in the southern part of the image).

Scientists believe phyllosilicates formed in the presence of water, which is of interest for the MSL mission goals, including possible past habitability. The suite of instruments on-board MSL could also help characterize the sulfate materials, which Opportunity has been studying since 2004.

Written by: Jennifer Griffes (1 September 2008)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_009919_1770.

Acquisition date
05 August 2008

Local Mars time
15:26

Latitude (centered)
-3.038°

Longitude (East)
354.695°

Spacecraft altitude
268.8 km (167.0 miles)

Original image scale range
27.1 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~81 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
6.2°

Phase angle
61.9°

Solar incidence angle
57°, with the Sun about 33° above the horizon

Solar longitude
108.5°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 97°
Sub-solar azimuth: 36.8°

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   (1413MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (705MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (713MB)
non-map           (802MB)

IRB color
map projected (322MB)
non-map           (723MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (385MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (395MB)

RGB color
non map           (692MB)

ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

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.