An Ancient Valley Network
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
An Ancient Valley Network
ESP_049977_1610  Science Theme: Fluvial Processes
Most of the oldest terrains on Mars have eroded into branching valleys, much like many land regions of Earth are eroded by rain and snowmelt runoff. This is the primary evidence for major climate change on Mars billions of years ago.

How the climate of Mars could have supported a warmer and wetter environment has been the subject of scientific debates for 40 years. A full-resolution enhanced color closeup reveals details in the bedrock and dunes on the valley floor (upper left). The bedrock of ancient Mars has been hardened and cemented by groundwater.



Written by: Alfred McEwen (audio: Tre Gibbs)  (9 May 2017)
 
Acquisition date
25 March 2017

Local Mars time
14:07

Latitude (centered)
-19.140°

Longitude (East)
58.413°

Spacecraft altitude
257.1 km (159.8 miles)

Original image scale range
51.5 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~155 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
2.1°

Phase angle
30.7°

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

Solar longitude
338.9°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  20.7°
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   (154MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (82MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (65MB)
non-map           (97MB)

IRB color
map projected  (24MB)
non-map           (100MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (176MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (161MB)

RGB color
non map           (94MB)
BONUS
4K (TIFF)
8K (TIFF)

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.