Status Report

Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Masursky Crater

By SpaceRef Editor

June 9, 2003

Filed under Daily Themis Pictures, Mars, Mars Odyssey THEMIS, US

Image Context:

Context image for 20030609a

Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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The large, tilted blocks in this THEMIS visible image are chaotic terrain in
Masursky Crater. Chaotic terrain is thought to occur when subsurface water is
suddenly released to the surface, and the resulting loss of ground support
causes the surface material to slump and break into blocks. Most of the
chaotic terrain on Mars is seen in the vicinity of the large catastrophic
outflow channels. Many of the outflow channels actually have chaotic terrain
as their source. This chaotic terrain is the source of a small channel that
connects to the much larger Tiu Valles.

[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

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