HiRISE | An Image of Mars 20 Years in the Making (ESP_091973

NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

An Image of Mars 20 Years in the Making
ESP_091973_1015 Science Theme:

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was captured into Mars orbit on 10 March 2006. Exactly 20 years later on 10 March 2026, we acquired this image of the South Polar layered terrain. The enhanced-color cutout reveals the rich image detail. The HiRISE camera still takes beautiful images after 20 years at Mars.

Written by: Alfred McEwen (23 March 2026)

Acquisition date
10 March 2026

Local Mars time
16:17

Latitude (centered)
-78.443°

Longitude (East)
208.527°

Spacecraft altitude
249.0 km (154.8 miles)

Original image scale range
from 24.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 49.8 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning)

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel

Map projection
Polarstereographic

Emission angle
0.0°

Phase angle
63.5°

Solar incidence angle
64°, with the Sun about 26° above the horizon

Solar longitude
241.3°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth: 104°
Sub-solar azimuth: 33.3°

JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (418MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (292MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected (221MB)
non-map           (341MB)

IRB color
map projected (112MB)
non-map           (274MB)

Merged IRB
map projected (127MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected (114MB)

RGB color
non map           (239MB)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.