NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Alpine glaciers

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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This image shows part of the western flank of Arsia Mons, the southernmost of the three great
Tharsis Montes. The surface shows parallel ridges more remniscent of a Zen garden than any
typical geological feature. These ridges are not typical of lava flow fronts, so a different explanation
has been proposed by Mars scientists. These ridges may instead be ancient signs of previously
existing glaciers that formed high on the volcano’s flank. As glaciers retreat with the seasons
and shifting climate, they leave behind a mound of debris along their receding edge. Successive
retreats can produce a series of parallel ridges similar to those seen here.

[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