NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Platy Lava Surface

Image Context:


Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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This VIS image was taken in the Tartarus region of Mars. The

lava flows covering the upper right portion of the image have

a very different texture than the Arsia Mons flows. These

flows illustrate a platy lava surface. This surface type

develops when the top of a lava flows cools and then is

broken into pieces by continued movement of the flow. Molten

lava will squeeze up between the plates of cooled lava,

forming the ridges seen in the image.

[Source: ASU THEMIS Science Team]

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