Ridges in Tempe Fossae
HiRISE PICTURE OF THE DAY: 21 JANUARY 2026
Ridges in Tempe Fossae

The objective of this observation is to determine the nature of ridges in this region. Some form pairs and others are just a bit wide. Their formation may have something to do with fissure eruptions. Tempe Fossae is also known for features called “graben,”, which are depressions located between parallel faults.



100,000 Image of Mars!
On 7 October 2025, the HiRISE camera aboard MRO acquired an image of the Syrtis Major plains that marks over 100,000 images of Mars, which is a fabulous milestone!
HiRISE Image of Exocomet 3I/ATLAS
On 2 October 2025, MRO turned away from Mars to image 3I/ATLAS, only the third interstellar object ever observed passing through our solar system!

HiRISE Instrument News
HiRISE Instrument News
Since mid-2023, our RED4 CCD has operated only intermittently due to a hardware issue, creating gaps in the middle of some image products and reducing the color swath to 1 CCD width. We continue to command RED4 in all observations and it returns data approximately 50% of the time

Layered Mesa near Mawrth Vallis
This target comes from the public via HiWish: “Similar HiRISE images of mounds around Chryse Planitia have revealed stunning and complex meter and decameter-scale stratigraphy, indicative of widespread, regional-scale processes. This mound shares characteristics with those landforms, so is important to document.”