Slope Streaks

Slope Streaks

Layered Slopes

Downward Slope

Slope Failure

Gullied Slope

Gullied Slope

Slope Streaks

Slippery Slope?

Layered Slope

Slippery Slopes

On Eros Slopes

Slope Processes

Gullied Slope

SLOPE Excavation Laboratory

North Polar Slope

Arabian Slope Streaks

Newly-Formed Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streaks

South Polar Layered Slope

Dark Slope Streaks

Defrosting South Polar Slope

Dark Slope Streaks

Bright and Dark Slopes on Ganymede

Dark Slope Streaks

Lycus Sulci Slope Streaks

Wind-Streaked Slopes

Dark Slope Streaks

Light and Dark Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streak

Pavonis Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streaks

Lycus Sulci Slope Streaks

Gullied Martian Slope

Dark Slope Streaks

Down Slippery Slopes

Dark Slope Streaks

Slope Streaks in Arabia

Slope-Streaked Knob

Exhumed Crater with Slope

Terra Sirenum Slope

Dark Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streaks

More Dark Slope Streaks

Slope Streaks in Terra Sabaea

Dark Slope Streaks

Frosty Polar Slope

Dark Slope Streaks

Dark Slope Streaks

Slope Streaks in Acheron Fossae

This image from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. At this time of year only south-facing slopes retain the frost, while the north-facing slopes have melted.

Rocks Exposed on Slope in Aram Chaos

Slope Failure near Aratus Crater

Slope Streak South of Olympus Mons

The image shows a region we see many slope streaks, typically dark features on slopes in the equatorial regions on Mars. They may extend for tens of meters in length and gradually fade away with time as new ones form. The most common hypothesis is that they are generated by dust avalanches that regularly occur on steep slopes exposing fresh dark materials from underneath the brighter dust. There are many types of slope streaks but one of the most recent and significant findings using HiRISE was the discovery of a new type called "recurring slope lineae," or RSL for short. Recent studies suggest that RSL may form through the flow of briny (extremely salty) liquid water that can be stable on the surface of Mars even under current climatic conditions for a limited time in summer when it is relatively warm. How can we distinguish between conventional slope streaks like the ones we see here and RSL? There are many criteria. For instance, RSL are usually smaller in size than regular slope streaks. However, one of the most important conditions is seasonal behavior, since RSL appear to be active only in summer while regular slope streaks can be active anytime of the year. This site is monitored regularly by HiRISE scientists because of the high density of slope streaks and their different sizes and orientations. If we look at a time-lapse sequence, we will see that a new slope streak has indeed formed in the period since April 2016 (and we can note how dark it is in comparison to the others indicating its freshness). However, this period corresponds mainly to the autumn season in this part of Mars, whereas we do not see any major changes in the summer season. This suggests that the feature that developed is a regular slope streak just like all the others in the area. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21272

Dust and sand slide down slopes on Mars in little avalanches. Dark slope streaks are thought to be the result of the relatively bright colored dust avalanching down slopes, revealing the darker, coarser sand underneath. This image is the latest in a sequence of images of this crater that started in 2013. The goal is to watch the dusty slopes, and try to understand more about the processes that drive these little avalanches. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23757

These images from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show how the appearance of dark markings on Martian slope changes with the seasons. The marks, called recurrent slope linea extend down slopes during warmer months.

This image taken by NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter features three newly-formed slope streaks. These are features which occur on crater walls, hills, and other slopes on Mars.

NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey captured dark slope streaks, like the ones on the rim of a unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea, are thought to have been formed by material moving down slope due to gravity.

This image shows slope streaks on a small hill. The hill is near an unnamed crater at the south end of Phlegra Montes

This depression within Cassini Crater contains several slope streaks. The darkest streaks are assumed to be younger than the lighter streaks

Located on the rim of Chia Crater, this smaller crater contains a multitude of dark slope streaks. These features are assumed to represent down slope movements of material, either a process that removes a dusty top later to reveal dark rocky material below, or one that darkens part of the slope due to surface or near surface flows of a briny volatile. Orbit Number: 72229 Latitude: 0.81902 Longitude: 300.014 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-03-27 12:29 https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22504

Layers Exposed on Slope in Echus Chasma Region

Flow Ejecta and Slope Landslides in Small Crater

Gullies in Inner Slope of Crater and Exposed Bedrock

Dark Slope Streak with Streak-Generated Topography

A Typical Martian Scene: Boulders and Slopes in a Crater in Aeolis

Layers of Cratered Highland Bedrock Exposed in Amenthes Slope

This observation from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows a set of landforms that appears to form a nested chevron pattern on a slope in Coloe Fossae. Interestingly, nearby surfaces on the same slope are all parallel.

Recurring slope lineae RSL may be due to active seeps of water. These dark flows are abundant along the steep slopes of ancient bedrock in Coprates Chasma as seen in this image from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

An Engineer maps out the position of rocks during VIPER testing at The NASA Glenn Research Center. A test version of the VIPER rover continues to show how well it moves through a simulated lunar surface in our SLOPE lab. This is a critical step toward ensuring the rover is ready for its 2023 mission to find water ice at the Moon’s South pole.

This image shows (part of) a 6-kilometer crater located on the northern slope of Bond Crater. Pole-facing gullies have eroded the northern slope of this small crater, located just west of where Uzboi Valles emanates from Bond and continues in a northerly direction. However, Hale Crater to the south has numerous gullies on its slopes and even on its central peak region. Researchers have analyzed both Bond and Hale Craters to try to determine why Bond has no gullies on its slopes, except for a small 7-km crater on the floor in its central area. (Reiss et al., 2009, PSS). The gullies in this observation have eroded into bedrock layers forming tributaries in the upper slope region and distributary channels further downslope on the debris fans. Research attributes these features to fluvial processes. (Gulick et al., 2018, Geol. Soc. London.) https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25504

Impact craters expose the subsurface materials on steep slopes. However, these slopes often experience rockfalls and debris avalanches that keep the surface clean of dust, revealing a variety of hues, like in this enhanced-color image, representing different rock types. The bright reddish material at the top of the crater rim is from a coating of the Martian dust. The long streamers of material are from downslope movements. Also revealed in this slope are a variety of bedrock textures, with a mix of layered and jumbled deposits. This sample is typical of the Martian highlands, with lava flows and water-lain materials depositing layers, then broken up and jumbled by many impact events. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14454

Dark slope streaks mark the hill sides in Lycus Sulci as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark streaks mark the steep slopes of this ridge located east of Mangala Valles as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

This image captured by NASA Mars Odyssey shows dark slope streaks in an unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea.

Many dark slope streaks are visible in this image of an unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea taken by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks are visible in this image of Amazonis Planitia captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks mark the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea, as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft captured numerous dark slope streaks in this small unnamed crater in Zephyria Planum.

Dark streaks mark the slope of this crater rim south of Tikhonravov Crater in this image captured by NASA Mars Odyssey.

Dark slope streaks mark the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Arabia Terra as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks mark the rim of this unnamed crater as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks mark the rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea captured by NASA Mars Odyssey.

Dark slope streaks are visible on the rim of this crater in Terra Sabaea in this image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey.

One small section of this image shows boulders that have rolled down the slope of a crater wall. The boulders vary in size, with the largest one approximately 6 meters across. Unlike the boulder in a previous image, this one is not standing on end. We can tell by using the sun angle and shadow length to figure out the height and then comparing that to its other measurements. We can determine the origin of the boulders by tracing their up-slope tracks. They appear to come from one small part of the crater wall that is less stable than surrounding materials. It is likely that there have been numerous rockfall events from this area, as suggested by the many boulders down-slope of this area, some with clear tracks and others with indistinct or no tracks visible. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20744

This observation from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows bright and dark slope streaks in craters in the Arabia Terra region.

Gravity driven slope modification creates the dark marks on the crater rim in this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

The dark slope streaks in this image are located on the rim of an unnamed crater east of Schiaparelli Crater taken by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks are found everywhere on the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Arabia Terra in this image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

A multitude of dark slope streaks mark the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea. This image is from NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Polar layered deposits slopes are quite extensive and partially surround the South polar residual cap as seen in this image from NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Numerous dark slope streaks mark the rim of this unnamed crater located on the rim of Henry Crater in this image taken by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks mark the rim of this unnamed crater withing Tikhonravov Crater in Terra Sabaea as seen by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks mark the side of the central peak on the floor of Cobres Crater in this image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Dark slope streaks mark the rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea, as shown in this image captured by NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

Numerous dark slope streaks are located on the inner rim of this unnamed crater in Terra Sabaea. This image is from NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft.

This image from NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows dark slope streaks on the inner rim of an unnamed crater in Amazonis Planitia.