NASA orbiter saw something astonishing peek through Martian clouds [View all]

Check out this unprecedented side view of a volcano summit on Mars.
By
Elisha Sauers
on
June 7, 2025



NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter captured the first horizon view of Arsia Mons, an enormous volcano on the Red Planet. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / ASU
NASA’s longest-running Mars mission has sent back an unprecedented side view of a massive volcano rising above the Red Planet, just before dawn.

On May 2, as sunlight crept over the Martian horizon, the Odyssey spacecraft captured Arsia Mons, a towering, long-extinct volcano, puncturing a glowing band of greenish haze in the planet’s upper atmosphere.

The 12-mile-high volcano — nearly twice the height of Mauna Loa in Hawaii — punctures a veil of fog, emerging like a monument to the planet's ancient past. The space snapshot is both visually arresting and scientifically enlightening.

"We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds," said Jonathon Hill, who leads Odyssey's camera operations at Arizona State University, in a statement, "and it didn't disappoint."



Topographical image of Tharsis region on Mars
Arsia Mons sits at the southern end of a towering trio of volcanoes called the Tharsis Montes. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

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https://mashable.com/article/nasa-mars-arsia-mons-volcano-image