Status Report

Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Geological Time on Display in Arabia Terra

By SpaceRef Editor

September 12, 2002

Filed under Daily Themis Pictures, Mars Odyssey THEMIS, US

Image Context:

Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team

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This scene from the dust covered plains of eastern Arabia Terra portrays
a range of geological time. Three craters at the center of the image
capture some of this range. Two have the classic bowl-shape of small,
relatively recent craters while the one just to the north has seen much
more history. Its rim has been scoured away by erosion and its floor
has been filled in by material likely of a sedimentary nature. The
channels that wind through the scene may be the oldest features present
while the relatively dark streaks scattered about could have been
produced in the past few years or even months as winds remove a layer of
dust to reveal darker material below.

[Questions? Email images@themis.asu.edu]

[Source: ASU THEMIS Science Team]

Note: this THEMIS visual 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