Status Report

NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Nighttime Wind Streaks

By SpaceRef Editor

December 9, 2004

Filed under Daily Themis Pictures, Mars, Mars Odyssey THEMIS, US

Image Context:

Context image for 20041209A

Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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Parameter	Value		Parameter	Value
Latitude	1.3	&nbsp	Instrument	IR
Longitude	68.8E (291.2W)	&nbsp	Resolution (m)	100
Image Size (pixels)	1030×320	&nbsp	Image Size (km)	103×32

Full data on this image has now been released via the THEMIS Data Releases website.

The majority of craters in this nighttime IR image appear

as bright (warm) rings surrounding dark (cooler) centers.

The dark “tails” of the craters are windstreaks. The crater

rims are providing a wind-shadow, protecting the dust/fines

on the downwind side of the crater. The wind has removed

the dust cover from the surroundings, revealing the rockier/

warmer surface. These craters are located in Syrtis Major.

[Source: ASU THEMIS Science Team]

Note: this THEMIS infrared image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA’s Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University

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