Status Report

Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Elysium Planitia

By SpaceRef Editor

January 27, 2003

Filed under Daily Themis Pictures, Hughes Electronics Corp., US

Image Context:

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

[ Find on map: Javascript version ]

[ Find on map: CGI version ]

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]

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

[ Show Full-Size Image (GIF) ] [ Show Full-Size Image (JPG) ]

[ Show Full-Size Image (PNG) ] [ Show Full-Size Image (TIF) ]

[ Printer-friendly version ]