Categories: MarsSpace ExplorationSpace Flight

The Latest Pictures From Mars Make Us Feel Spoiled

A HiRISE image called "steep north polar peripheral scarp." Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Don’t you love it when close-up pictures come beaming to your computer from another planet? Below are some of the latest images from Mars taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

And by the way, there’s a way for you to request where HiRISE will be pointing next.

All you need to go to this page (called HiWish) and leave a suggestion for where you’d like the spacecraft to look. For some tips on what to do:

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Here’s a post from the Planetary Society talking about when a HiWish was granted to Emily Lakdawalla, its senior editor.
Here is a (somewhat dated) post walking you through the process of a HiWish.

The general consensus seems to be picking a spot that is not over-popular, and trying to find a spot that HiRISE has not looked at before or very frequently. Best of luck!

To see more HiRISE images from the latest release, check out this webpage.

A HiRISE image called “Nili Patera.” Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A HiRISE image called “scalloped surface in Utopia region.” Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A HiRISE image called “gullied crater wall.” Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A HiRISE image called “active dune gullies in Kaiser crater.” Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

A HiRISE image called “dark-capped plain and hills in western Arabia region intercrater terrain.” Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Elizabeth Howell

Elizabeth Howell is the senior writer at Universe Today. She also works for Space.com, Space Exploration Network, the NASA Lunar Science Institute, NASA Astrobiology Magazine and LiveScience, among others. Career highlights include watching three shuttle launches, and going on a two-week simulated Mars expedition in rural Utah. You can follow her on Twitter @howellspace or contact her at her website.