Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Elysium Planitia

Image Context:

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

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The ejecta of this impact crater appears to have been modified after it was emplaced. This modification may be due to the presence of subsurface ground ice.

Another possible indicator of ground ice is the texture seen on the floor of the crater. One can also see a spur and gully morphology inside the crater along its
rim illustrating differential erosion of various rock types.

[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