Status Report

NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Daedalia Planum

By SpaceRef Editor
August 16, 2004
Filed under , , ,






Medium image for 20040816A

Image Context:

Context image for 20040816A
Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
[ Find on map: Javascript version ]

[ Find on map: CGI version ]














ParameterValue ParameterValue
Latitude-18.4 &nbsp InstrumentIR
Longitude231.9E (128.1W) &nbsp Resolution (m)100
Image Size (pixels)2304×611 &nbsp Image Size (km)230.4×61.1


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



The THEMIS Image of the Day will be exploring the nomenclature of Mars for the next three weeks.

A Flash-based interactive viewer is available for this image.

Daedalia Planum

  • Planum: plateau or high plain
  • Daedalia: Daedalus was a famous inventor, architect,

    and craftsman. He designed the Labyrith at

    Knossos (the Minotaur’s prison), and the wings

    that caused the death of his son, Icarus.

Daedalia Planum is located south of Arsia Mons. Topographically,

this area appeares to be a relatively featureless plain (as can be

seen in the MOLA context image to the right).

However, the daytime IR image shows multiple lava flows and small craters.

The descriptor “fluctus” may be a better term to use now that we have better images of this region.

Nomenclature Fact of the Day: Small craters on Mars are named for

towns and villages from all over the world with populations

less than 100,000.


[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


[ Show Full-Size Image (GIF) ] [ Show Full-Size Image (JPG) ]
[ Show Full-Size Image (PNG) ] [ Show Full-Size Image (TIF) ]
[ Printer-friendly version ]

SpaceRef staff editor.