Status Report

Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Appollinaris Patera

By SpaceRef Editor

October 15, 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 THEMIS image shows parts of the dissected and eroded remnants of an impact crater rim and volcanic material located north of Apollinaris Patera near the southern highlands – northern lowlands dichotomy on Mars. The rugged terrain observed in the context image of the region has been interpreted as lava flows interbedded with eolian or volcanic pyroclastics while the more smooth terrain has been interpreted as ancient channel deposits. The high resolution THEMIS image shows the effects of erosion on these materials as parts of the rim have been dissected into a chaotic terrain. Smaller and heavily eroded impact craters are also observed in the image and are evidence of the powerful effects of erosion.

[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