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Happy Valentine’s Day from Mars to all the readers of Universe Today !
Well it’s truly a solar system wide Valentines celebration. From the Moon, Mars and even Comet Temple 1 with some pixie Stardust for the romantic rendezvous upcoming in a few short hours [Stardust-NExT Flyby at 11:37 p.m. EST Feb 14].
The Martian camera team from Malin Space Systems, San Diego, wishes to share a special heart-shaped feature from Arabia Terra – images above and below – with all Mars fans on this St. Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2011. And certainly, I love Mars ! Especially those gorgeous and brainy twin gals Spirit & Opportunity.
The bright heart shaped feature is about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) long. Arabia Terra lies in the northern hemisphere of Mars
The tip of the heart lies above a small impact crater centered at 21.9 degrees north latitude, 12.7 degrees west longitude.
According to a JPL press release, “The crater is responsible for the formation of the bright, heart-shaped feature. When the impact occurred, darker material on the surface was blown away, and brighter material beneath it was revealed.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif manages MRO for NASA.
More Martian hearts images below from another Malin built camera aboard NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor orbiter
![](https://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/moc2_135a_msss_11-483x580.jpg)
This heart shaped pit on Mars is located on the east flank of the Alba Patera volcano in northern Tharsis. The pit was formed by collapse within a straight-walled trough known in geological terms as a graben. Graben are formed along fault lines by expansion of the bedrock terrain. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
![](https://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/9-Martian-Hearts-386x580.gif)
Mesas and depressions from all across Mars. Images taken by Mars Global Surveyor from 2001 to 2004. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
![](https://www.universetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/E0401514crop1-565x580.jpg)
Image taken by Mars Global Surveyor. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Sweet! Thanks for thinking of us!
wow! they can snap a heart shaped feature! a difficult job indeed! but… they cannot take closed up photos of the caves in mars or the face on mars and environs!
NASA has taken multiple high resolution images of the caves and the so called face on mars with several orbiters. the so called face is a natural geologic feature that erodes over time.
the multitude of martian hearts is amazing