Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Kasei Vallis 02-28-2003

Image Context:


Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
[ Find on map: Javascript version ]

[ Find on map: CGI version ]

3D Projection onto MOLA data

Projection image credit: NASA/JPL/ASU/MOLA

The MOLA context image of Kasei Valles suggests the observed channels may be partly structurally controlled due to their rectilinear pattern. However, the high-resolution THEMIS image shows grooves within the channels that can be interpreted as evidence for fluvial activity. This relationship suggests that the initial channel formation was structurally controlled, and that once formed, the channels provided a conduit for movement of material.

[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