HiRISE images for March 10, 2010

The following new captioned and spotlight images taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft are now available:

• At the Summit of Arsia Mons Volcano
  Like the other major shield volcanoes on Mars, Arsia Mons has a caldera (large volcanic crater) at its summit.
• Northern Hemisphere Gullies with Layers
  This observation shows northern hemisphere gullies on a layered crater wall.
• Candidate Landing Site in Possible Salt Playa
  This image covers part of a candidate landing site that appears to be a shallow depression with a deposit perhaps consisting of chlorides, like table salt.
• Cerberus Fossae East of the Head of Athabasca Valles
  This image shows part of Cerberus Fossae, a long system of extensional (normal) faults arranged in trough-bounding (graben-bounding) pairs. Cerberus Fossae served as the source of a large volcanic eruption that draped Athabasca Valles in lava.
• A Burst of Spring
  In the winter a layer of carbon dioxide ice (dry ice) covers the north polar sand dunes. In the spring the sublimation of the ice (going directly from ice to gas) causes a host of uniquely Martian phenomena.