PIA18224: A Surprise Landslump in Melas Chasma
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Instrument:  HiRISE
 Product Size:  2880 x 1800 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  University of Arizona/HiRISE-LPL
 Other  
Information: 
Other products from image ESP_035028_1685
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA18224.tif (15.56 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA18224.jpg (662.5 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

Click here for larger version of PIA18224
Map Projected Browse Image
Click on the image for larger version

HiRISE has been monitoring the recurring slope lineae (RSL) over the mid-latitude and equatorial regions of Mars. One of these sites is a crater on the floor of Melas Chasma; and an animation shows how the RSL follow the sun, changing slope aspect with the seasons.

In one of our most recent images of this site, there was a surprise: a new dark streak just down slope from the RSL. This new streak is about 18 meters wide, whereas most RSL flows (see closer to the crater rim) are less than 5 meters wide. Closer inspection shows that the dark streak corresponds to a topographic slump, similar to several others visible on this slope.

This is one of the largest topographic changes we've seen in equatorial regions of Mars. We are continuing to monitor this location to see if this streak fades in the same manner as RSL, and to understand its relationship, if any, to the RSL activity. If the RSL are due to seeping water, then saturation of a layer downslope could destabilize the slope and lead to such slumps. We continue to be surprised by new discoveries from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter after 8 years in orbit.

HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Image Addition Date:
2014-04-16