Planet Mars: Ancient Rivers in Mawrth Vallis | NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: Ancient River in Mawrth Vallis | NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Billions of years ago, a river flowed across this scene in Mawrth Vallis. Like on Earth, these river beds can get filled up with rocks that are cemented together. After Mars became a colder, drier place and the river disappeared, the rocky river bed remained.

This image was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument.

Black and white images are less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km.

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 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.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Duration: 50 seconds

Release Date:  Dec 13, 2021

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #MawrthVallis #Rivers #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MRO #HiRISE #Spacecraft #JPL #Caltech #UArizona #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video