Nili Fossae (Mars)
Data as of 2026-10-23
What it is
- Type
- Fossa, fossae
- IAU definition
Long, narrow depression
- Diameter
- 727.9 km, 21 % of the radius of its body
- Centre
- 22.02° N, 76.7° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
- Name adopted
- 1973
- Origin of the name
Classical albedo feature name.
Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.
In Galaxy
Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Nili Fossae.
Observed by
Instruments whose footprint touches this formation, counted by the PDS Orbital Data Explorer (data frozen on September 29, 2026). A footprint that touches it is not a study of it.
| Mission and instrument | Products | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter | 356 | September 15, 1997 | June 30, 2001 |
| Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Camera | 13,235 | November 4, 1997 | October 16, 2006 |
| 2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter · Thermal Emission Imaging System | 17,894 | February 28, 2002 | November 27, 2025 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Planetary Fourier Spectrometer | 1,128 | January 22, 2004 | December 25, 2018 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Observatoire Mineralogie, Eau, Glaces, Activite | 460 | January 22, 2004 | January 3, 2024 |
| ESA's Mars Express · High Resolution Stereo Camera | 627 | October 26, 2004 | November 2, 2025 |
| ESA's Mars Express · Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionsphere Sounding | 1,937 | July 9, 2005 | April 4, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Context Camera | 1,290 | September 28, 2006 | May 6, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars | 21,799 | October 3, 2006 | May 4, 2022 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment | 2,394 | October 3, 2006 | July 28, 2026 |
| Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Shallow Radar | 2,172 | June 4, 2007 | September 20, 2025 |
| ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System | 2,037 | April 14, 2018 | December 20, 2024 |
| Viking Orbiter 1 and 2 · Visual Imaging Subsystem Camera A/B | 409 | no date published | no date published |
Sources
International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4271
Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms