Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Granicus Vallis

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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Granicus Vallis, located northwest of the Elysium volcanic complex, may owe its origin to the interaction of volcanic heating and subsurface ground ice. One of the most interesting
features seen in this image are the quasi-dendritic depressions, best seen in the upper third of the image. These may be drainage systems formed by the melting of the local permafrost
table. Granicus is the ancient name for a river in Turkey.

[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