Upper Section of Channel in Gale Crater
HiRISE PICTURE OF THE DAY: 4 MARCH 2026

The Upper Section of a Channel in Gale Crater

This observation features an upper section of a canyon channel system that incising Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. A HiRISE image was requested as the canyon system is analogous to Gediz Vallis also on Mount Sharp, and explored by the Curiosity rover, which may have formed through the past flow of water, rocks, and other materials.



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.”