touchdown confirmed perseverance
faithfully
on the surface of mars ready to begin
seeking the sand
of past life welcome to watch mojo and
today we're counting down our picks for
the top 10 photos and videos from mars
this ancient landscape was the site of
lakes and streams billions of years ago
from that image we can reconstruct what
this would look like if we were able to
get an oblique view
as if we were in a helicopter flying
around the dust tube for this list
we'll be looking at the most amazing
images sent back from the red planet
we will be including false color images
and mosaics
let us know in the comments which one
you could look at for ours
number 10 dune and ripples earth has
plenty of deserts in fact they cover
about a third of the earth's land
surface area
but there's something extraordinary
about seeing such beautiful sand dunes
on another planet
this false color image of a large dune
in procter crater
was taken by the high resolution imaging
science experiment camera
aboard nasa's mars reconnaissance
orbiter or mro
in 2009 the color was added to show
texture
mars has many such dunes some of them
very different to what we have on earth
the large ripples atop a dune in this
mosaic which combines photos from nasa's
rover curiosity in the bagnold dune
field
are unique to the red planet nasa's
study of martian dunes taught us that
mars does
actually have wind because the dunes
change over time
number 9. global dust storm whereas
earth has hurricanes mars has ferocious
dust storms that sometimes cover the
entire planet
the dust it's not like sand it's like
talcum powder
it's very very microscopically small
nasty
dust particles and if they get into your
lungs
it's a human safety issue in 2018 one
such storm prompted nasa to put its
rover opportunity into hibernation
but once the storm cleared it failed to
reboot it's possible that dust had
covered up its solar panels
the mro on the other hand was able to
capture a bird's eye view of the extreme
weather event
thanks to its special vantage point we
have this spectacular
image of mars before and after the dust
storm
during the storm the planet's surface
was concealed by enormous dust clouds
and dust towers
which can climb to 50 miles high
these photos are vital for understanding
one of mars's biggest hazards
number eight tracks left behind
opportunity roamed mars for 15
incredible years traveling a total
distance of just over 28 miles
that might not seem like a lot but for a
slow rover like opportunity traversing
an alien planet
every foot was an incredible achievement
this picture was taken by opportunities
pan cam of the tracks the rover left in
its wake in 2014
as it journeyed across the west rim of
endeavour crater
a false color version shows more details
that same year
opportunity's younger sibling curiosity
took a similar photo as it left
dingo gap inside gale crater it's
extraordinary to sit here on earth and
look at these images
like postcards sent back from the red
planet and with the empty martian
landscape stretching off in the
background
they're hauntingly beautiful number 7.
koralev crater
mars has hundreds of thousands of impact
craters
and some of them are truly astonishing
one of the most distinct is korolev
named for sergey korolev the rocket
engineer who spearheaded the soviet
space program in the 50s and 60s
located in the red planet's northern
polar plane coralev has a diameter of 50
miles
and is filled with brilliant white water
ice this particular image was taken in
2018
by mars express a mars orbiter operated
by the european space agency
using a digital terrain model isa has
also created an oblique view of the
crater
and a breathtaking virtual flyover with
so much attention on mars ice and water
it's no wonder these images strike a
cord number 6.
mount sharp one of mars's weirdest peaks
is mount sharp
or els mons which rests in the heart of
the gale crater
for years mount sharp has been something
of a mystery to scientists
which is one reason gale crater was
chosen as the landing spot for curiosity
this ancient landscape was the site of
lakes and streams billions of years ago
they left their clues in the finely
layered clay-rich rock
curiosity did not disappoint as well as
finding evidence that gale crater
was once a lake the rover provided data
that allowed researchers to estimate the
density of mount sharp
based on this it seems the mountain may
have been formed by martian winds
this composite image of mount sharp was
taken in 2015
as the rover looked out from the edge of
the crater towards the bizarre mountain
number 5. dust devil it's not just
dust storms you need to worry about on
mars dust
devils which also appear in warm areas
on earth
have been spotted on the red planet many
times as have the tracks they've left
behind
the mars reconnaissance orbiter has
snapped a striking picture of a dust
devil from above
from that image we can reconstruct what
this would look like if we were able to
get an oblique view
as if we were in a helicopter flying
around the duster curiosity was even
able to produce a time lapse from
multiple images
but there's something magical about this
image from opportunity this black and
white shot was taken by the rover from
the safety of a nearby ridge
and shows a distant dust devil winding
its way through a valley
number 4. martian sunset nasa's rover
spirit wasn't as long-lived as its twin
opportunity spirit's landing site is
very rugged
very rocky moving around is much more
difficult
a spirits landing site is at a higher
latitude so the winters are much more
severe
and so coaxing that vehicle through a
cold uh
dark martian winter is is is a much
tougher job than it is for opportunity
but
it still sent back some incredible
images and information during its
six-year run
one of the most memorable is this
picture of a martian sunset taken in
2005
showing just how much further away the
sun is on mars than it is on earth
appearing as a bright moon sized speck
in the distance
spirit's picture was taken from the
gussev crater right around dinner time
certainly a great way to spend an
evening five years later
opportunity sent back its own surreal
time lapse of a martian sunset in 2015
curiosity continued the tradition number
three
curiosity selfies it's not just nasa
scientists who get attached to mars
rovers
they've captured the public imagination
for years and
none more so than curiosity who in 2012
sent back the first ever selfie on an
alien planet
yes it's upside down but that's easily
forgiven since then
it sent back numerous more polished
selfies of its adventures
we might be cheating a bit by not
choosing just one of them for this entry
but they're all adorable
according to nasa's jet propulsion
laboratory it takes
86 separate images to create one
panoramic selfie
which is why you never see its robotic
arm in any of the shots
number 2. vallis marineris mars has
plenty of
incredible geographical features one of
the most famous is olympus mons
the tallest planetary mountain in the
solar system and
one of the largest volcanoes as well as
having mountains and volcanoes
mars also has a vast and complex canyon
system called valles marineris
first discovered by mariner 9 in the
1970s
a later mission viking 1 was responsible
in 1980 for producing a stunning mosaic
image of valles marineris spreading
across the martian equator
needless to say the formation completely
dwarfs earth's own grand canyon
scientists continue to theorize about
how exactly such a massive canyon system
formed whether from tectonic activity
liquid water
melting permafrost or a combination
before we unveil our top pick
here are some honorable mentions the
first image from mars
surface taken in 1976 by viking one
sojourner after landing in 1997
pathfinder took this photo of its rover
sojourner
murray butes curiosity snapped this
photo in 2016
on its way up mount sharp
brand new crater this distinct very
recent crater was discovered by the mro
in 2012
northern ice cap mars north pole comes
to life in this image from the mars
global surveyor
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number one perseverance is landing
there's a reason that mars landings are
referred to as the quote
seven minutes of terror the navigation
has confirmed that the parachute has
deployed and we are seeing significant
deceleration
in the velocity to touch down landers
must execute a complex
sequence of maneuvers historically about
half of all mars missions have failed
so it was with bated breath that people
around the world waited for news of
nasa's perseverance rover on february 18
2021 not only did perseverance or percy
touch down successfully in jezreel
crater
it provided us with the first ever video
footage of the landing touchdown
confirmed
perseverance faithfully on the surface
of mars
ready to begin seeking the sand of past
life
we also got to hear the red planet for
the first time
perseverance will hunt for signs of life
in the crater with its robotic
helicopter
ingenuity on board we have a lot to look
forward to
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