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Mars radiation levels

Mars radiation levels are two to three times higher than around Earth.

August 24, 2004

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NASA/JPL/JSC/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

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This lava channel is part of the Elysium Mons flows.
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This lava channel is part of the Elysium Mons flows.
Lava Channel
The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has completed an unprecedented full decade of observing Mars from orbit.
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The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has completed an unprecedented full decade of observing Mars from orbit.
Tenth Anniversary Image from Camera on NASA Mars Orbiter
On the southwest edge of the immense volcanic region of Tharsis, lava from its giant volcanoes flowed down to meet the old cratered landscape of Terra Sirenum.
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On the southwest edge of the immense volcanic region of Tharsis, lava from its giant volcanoes flowed down to meet the old cratered landscape of Terra Sirenum.
Terra Sirenum
Large fractures have formed 'steps' in this region of Tempe Terra.
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Large fractures have formed 'steps' in this region of Tempe Terra.
Tempe Terra
This crater, located in Chryse Planitia, is relatively unmodified, meaning it appears very much like it did when it first formed.
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This crater, located in Chryse Planitia, is relatively unmodified, meaning it appears very much like it did when it first formed.
Lismore Crater
If a meteorite breaks in two shortly before hitting the ground, the typical bowl shape of a single impact crater becomes doubled.
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If a meteorite breaks in two shortly before hitting the ground, the typical bowl shape of a single impact crater becomes doubled.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Dual Crater
This is a Mars Odyssey visible color image of an unnamed crater in western Arcadia Planitia (near 39 degrees N, 179 degrees E). The crater shows a number of interesting internal and external featur...
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This is a Mars Odyssey visible color image of an unnamed crater in western Arcadia Planitia (near 39 degrees N, 179 degrees E). The crater shows a number of interesting internal and external features that suggest that it has undergone substantial modification since it formed. These features include concentric layers and radial streaks of brighter, redder materials inside the crater, and a heavily degraded rim and ejecta blanket. The patterns inside the crater suggest that material has flowed or slumped towards the center. Other craters with features like this have been seen at both northern and southern mid latitudes The distribution of these kinds of craters suggests the possible influence of surface or subsurface ice in the formation of these enigmatic features. The image was taken on September 29, 2002 during late northern spring. This is an approximate true color image, generated from a long strip of visible red (654 nm), green (540 nm), and blue (425 nm) filter images that were calibrated using a combination of pre-flight measurements and Hubble images of Mars. The colors appear perhaps a bit darker than one might expect; this is most likely because the images were acquired in late afternoon (roughly 4:40 p.m. local solar time) and the low Sun angle results in an overall darker surface.
Western Arcadia Planitia
The dunes and dust devil tracks in this VIS image are located on the plains of Planum Chronium.
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The dunes and dust devil tracks in this VIS image are located on the plains of Planum Chronium.
Dunes and dust devil tracks in Planum Chronium
Olympica Fossae is a complex channel located on the volcanic plains between Alba Mons and Olympus Mons. The sinuosity of the large channel in the middle of this image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey ...
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Olympica Fossae
Olympica Fossae
Five decades of successful NASA missions to the Red Planet, 1965-2015.
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50 Years of Mars Exploration
50 Years of Mars Exploration
Chasma Boreale is a long, flat-floored valley that cuts deep into Mars' north polar icecap
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Chasma Boreale is a long, flat-floored valley that cuts deep into Mars' north polar icecap
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Chasma Boreale
Ius Chasma is unique from the other chasmata of Valles Marineris in possessing mega gullies on both sides of the chasma. This image was captured by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.
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Investigating Mars: Ius Chasma
Investigating Mars: Ius Chasma
In Ares Vallis, teardrop mesas extend like pennants behind impact craters, where the raised rocky rims diverted the floods and protected the ground from erosion.
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In Ares Vallis, teardrop mesas extend like pennants behind impact craters, where the raised rocky rims diverted the floods and protected the ground from erosion.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Ares Vallis
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the margin of the north polar cap and the surrounding plains. The layering of the ice is easily visible due to the dust that is dep...
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This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the margin of the north polar cap and the surrounding plains. The layering of the ice is easily visible due to the dust that is deposited on the top of the ice every year, creating layering over millions of years.
Polar Layers
NASA's NEOWISE mission detected comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring on July 28, 2014, less than three months before this comet's close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19. This merging of multiple images presents t...
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NASA's NEOWISE mission detected comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring on July 28, 2014, less than three months before this comet's close flyby of Mars on Oct. 19. This merging of multiple images presents the comet in four different positions relative to the background stars.
NEOWISE Spies Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring a Second Time
Just as on Earth, volcanism and tectonism are found together on Mars. Here is an example: the ridges and fractures of Claritas Fossae are affecting or perhaps hosting the volcanic flows of Solis Pl...
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Just as on Earth, volcanism and tectonism are found together on Mars. Here is an example: the ridges and fractures of Claritas Fossae are affecting or perhaps hosting the volcanic flows of Solis Planum.
Volcanism & Tectonism
This false color image shows a region with craters of different ages located at the margin of Acidalia Planitia. This image was collected during the Northern Spring season.
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This false color image shows a region with craters of different ages located at the margin of Acidalia Planitia. This image was collected during the Northern Spring season. The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.
Cratered Acidalia Planitia
THEMIS Support for Landing Site Selection
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THEMIS Support for Landing Site Selection
THEMIS Support for Landing Site Selection
This computer-generated view based on multiple orbital observations shows Mars' Gale crater as if seen from an aircraft north of the crater.
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This computer-generated view based on multiple orbital observations shows Mars' Gale crater as if seen from an aircraft north of the crater.
Oblique view of Gale Crater from the North (Unannotated)
These three views of the Martian moon Phobos were taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter using its infrared camera, THEMIS. Each color represents a different temperature range.
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Three views of the Martian moon Phobos taken by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter using its infrared camera.
Odyssey's Three Views of Phobos
As fractures opened near the summit of Tyrrhena Patera, the ground collapsed to make pits and chains of pits aligned with the fractures. The large pit seen here is about 400 m (1,300 ft) deep.
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As fractures opened near the summit of Tyrrhena Patera, the ground collapsed to make pits and chains of pits aligned with the fractures. The large pit seen here is about 400 m (1,300 ft) deep.
Collapse on Tyrrhena Patera
A lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse and Mars has a close encounter with a comet.
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What's Up for October?
What's Up for October?
This unusual view of the horizon of Mars was captured by NASA’s Odyssey orbiter using its THEMIS camera, in an operation that took engineers three months to plan. It’s taken from about 250 miles ab...
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This unusual view of the horizon of Mars was captured by NASA’s Odyssey orbiter using its THEMIS camera, in an operation that took engineers three months to plan.
Odyssey's THEMIS Views the Horizon of Mars
NASA is advancing the Journey to Mars by starting the conversation about where humans may one day land on the Red Planet.
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This image shows the different exploration zones for Mars landing sites for human missions to the surface of Mars.
Mars Exploration Zone Layout Considerations
A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet. Satellites always orbit a planet's...
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Mars Gravity Map
Mars Gravity Map

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