The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has just begun its science mission, and one of the first targets is Victoria Crater, where the rover Opportunity has just arrived after nearly 1000 sols on Mars.

The photos, using the largest interplanetary telescope ever lofted, are truly amazing.

See comments for links to original imagery. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

Perched on a rock, she could be waiting for a bus.
But if so, she could be in for an awfully long wait.
This photo of what looks remarkably like a female figure with her arm outstretched, was taken on Mars. picked by AutumnLotus 9 months ago

In the next few decades NASA plans to send a man (or several) to Mars. While they're still not sure of price (from $20bn to $450bn), it will take seven months to arrive in a ship powered by "an advanced cryogenic fuel propulsion system". picked by TheStep 10 months ago

NASA has selected a Mars robotic mission that will provide information about the Red Planet's atmosphere, climate history and potential habitability in greater detail than ever before.

I posted this because it has MAVEN. picked by AutumnLotus 3 weeks ago

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds. Spacecraft soil experiments also have provided evidence of past interaction between minerals and liquid water, processes that occur on Earth. Mars lander makes snow angels. picked by Bornbad 1 week ago

What it would be like to fly over Mars? Combining terrain data from the orbiting Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft with information about the robotic Spirit rover currently rolling across Mars has resulted in a digital movie that shows what a flight over the Columbia Hills might look like. picked by sandossu 5 months ago

Spirit and Opportunity, the NASA Mars Rovers, have discovered interesting features that suggest Mars could have supported life at one time, including 'rivers' of frozen carbon dioxide that flow uphill. picked by tundramonkey 10 months ago

NASA has finally stated that the Mars Global Surveyor was dead due to a faulty solar panel. picked by groggie 2 years ago

Mars was covered in an ocean of molten rock for about 100 million years after the planet formed, researchers found. The formation of the solar system can be dated quite accurately to 4,567,000,000 years ago. Mars' metallic core formed a few million years after that. Previous estimates for how long the surface remained molten ranged from thousands of years to several hundred million years picked by AutumnLotus 11 months ago

The most productive and longest-lived mission to Mars has likely ended, NASA says. For nearly ten years, the orbiter mapped the surface of Mars, and it played a big role in selecting the landing sites for the successful Mars Rover missions. A problem with a solar panel joint led to its demise. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

NASA has announced a "significant find on Mars": That water may still be flowing on our red neighbour. Source data from the science team is here. picked by BrightonCub 2 years ago

For the first time, satellite imagery reveals thick Martian salt deposits scattered across the planet's southern surface, which one planetary scientist claims could be sites of ancient life. The mats of sodium chloride — the same taste-enhancing mineral found on your kitchen table — serve as more evidence of Mars' watery past, and researchers think the briney pools that made them could... read full post picked by AutumnLotus 7 months ago

A strange door-like structure at the base of the mountain formation from a NASA image of Mars is causing a stir. picked by mitzuzake 9 months ago

NASA investigative panel determined the probable cause of the mysterious disappearance of the Mars Global Surveyor was battery failure. picked by AutumnLotus 1 year ago

NASA scientists have discovered what might form some of the weirdest landscapes on Mars, winding channels carved into the Martian surface that scientists have dubbed "spiders," "lace" and "lizard skin." The unusual landscape features form in an area of Mars' south pole called cryptic terrain because it once defied explanation. More pictures picked by AutumnLotus 10 months ago

After decades of studying the climate conditions of Mars, scientists have recently made a breakthrough observation. Adrian Brown's team found a substantial amount of ephemeral (short lived) water ice in the polar regions of Mars. picked by AutumnLotus 8 months ago

Days before its tenth anniversary in Mars orbit, the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft ran into problems. They got a weak signal three days later, and nothing since. Plans are to take a photograph of it with another Mars Orbiter today or tomorrow. picked by Fanatic 2 years ago

China, the third country to put a man in space on its own rocket, aims to send a probe to Mars in 2009. picked by mitzuzake 11 months ago

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is sending a spacecraft closer to the sun than any probe has ever gone – and what it finds could revolutionize what we know about our star and the solar wind that influences everything in our solar system. picked by AutumnLotus 5 months ago

Sand dunes are among the "bedforms" or wind-deposited landforms that appear in new images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). However, scientists remain unsure as to whether winds on present-day Mars are strong enough to create such geological features. picked by maxriter 9 months ago