Latest Photos from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Most Powerful Mars Camera Snaps People's Choice Photos

A composite of the first images of Martian sites suggested by the public as part of a participatory exploration program with NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The eight images were released March 31, 2010. Full story.

Mystery Spirals on Mars Finally Explained

View of the north polar region of Mars from orbit. The ice- rich polar cap (quasi-circular white area at center) is about 1,000 km across. It is bisected by a large canyon, Chasma Boreale, on the right side. Chasma Boreale is about the size of the Grand Canyon in the U.S. and up to 2 km deep.

Deep Hotspots on Ancient Mars Looked Habitable

Color HiRISE image of the central peak of Leighton Crater showing inter-layered carbonate (light colored) and chlorite (dark colored) units. These rocks suggest that inter-layered carbonate and clay sediments have been metamorphosed at depth due to hydrothermal conditions.

Mysterious Mars Gullies Likely Carved By Carbon Dioxide

These gullies on a Martian sand dune resemble features on Earth that are carved by water. However, they were likely formed by processes related to the winter buildup of carbon-dioxide frost, according to a new study. The top photo was taken in March 2008 (Martian autumn), the middle one in July 2009 (summer) and the bottom photo in October 2010 (winter). All were taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

MRO Sees Gullies on Mars

Images like this from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show portions of the Martian surface in unprecedented detail. This one shows many channels from 1 meter to 10 meters (approximately 3 feet to 33 feet) wide on a scarp in the Hellas impact basin. On Earth we would call these gullies. Some larger channels on Mars that are sometimes called gullies are big enough to be called ravines on Earth.

Signs of Possible Water on Mars at Newton Crater

This image combining orbital imagery with 3-D modeling shows flows that appear in spring and summer on a slope inside Mars' Newton crater.

Mars Shifting Sand Dunes - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

A dune in the northern polar region of Mars shows significant changes between two images taken on June 25, 2008 and May 21, 2010 by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Gully-Streaked Mars Crater: Full View

Zoomed-out view of the gully-streaked crater in the Martian northern hemisphere photographed by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 15, 2017.

Gullies Streak Slopes of Mars Crater

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this image of a gully-streaked crater in the Red Planet's northern hemisphere on Jan. 15, 2017.

Mars Mesa and Sand Dunes

This image from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a small mesa surrounded by sand dunes in Noctis Labyrinthyus, a fractured region on the western end of the huge Red Planet canyon system Valles Marineris.