Status Report

NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Basaltic Crater in Color IR

By SpaceRef Editor
August 6, 2004
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Medium image for 20040806A

Image Context:

Context image for 20040806A
Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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ParameterValue ParameterValue
Latitude24 &nbsp InstrumentIR
Longitude80.7E (279.3W) &nbsp Resolution (m)100
Image Size (pixels)1156×320 &nbsp Image Size (km)115.6×0.3


This image is part of the following themes:


Full data on this image has now been released via the THEMIS Data Releases website.



This image shows two representations of the same infra-red image near Nili Fosse in the the Isidis region of Mars. On the left is a grayscale image showing surface temperature, and on the right is a false-color composite made from 3 individual THEMIS bands. The false-color image is colorized using a technique called decorrelation stretch (DCS), which emphasizes the spectral differences between the bands to highlight compositional variations.

In many cases craters trap sand in their topographic depressions, interrupting the sand’s migration across the Martian surface. This image is particularly interesting because there appears to be more than 1 type of sand in the bottom of this crater and in the hummocky terrain near the bottom of the image. The pink/magenta areas are characteristic of a basaltic composition, but there are also orange areas that are likely caused by the presence of andesite. These two compositions, basalt and andesite, are some of the most common found on Mars.


[Source: ASU THEMIS Science Team]


Note: this THEMIS infrared 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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