Overview

A Ball Aerospace-built camera is returning the highest resolution images of Mars from the largest telescopic instrument ever sent beyond Earth’s orbit. Ball Aerospace’s High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera is flying aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

HiRISE image, taken on Oct. 3, 2006, shows "Victoria Crater," an impact crater at Meridiani Planum, near the Martian equator.

The HiRISE camera is designed to image the Martian surface at up to five times the resolution currently provided by the Mars Global Surveyor, identifying images as small as a coffee table. HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona.

In addition to looking for evidence of past or present water, the MRO will study the climate record and identify landing sites for future robotic and manned missions. The images from HiRISE helped investigate deposits and landforms, and assist in the evaluation of candidate landing sites.

Our Role

Ball Aerospace built the HiRISE camera that provides images of both predicted and unknown features on Mars’ surface at a higher resolution and contrast than ever before.

HiRISE relies on Ball Aerospace’s advanced imaging technologies, such as those employed in QuickBird, Deep Impact, and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The HiRISE camera captured the first-ever image of active avalanches near the Red Planet's north pole.

MRO has been collecting science data since it returned its first images in March 2006. It will then be used as a high-data rate communications relay between landed missions and the Earth.