NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Dynamic Mars

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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Several interesting impact craters are observed in this THEMIS image taken near Scamander Vallis that illustrate the dynamic nature of the Martian surface. The smallest crater at the bottom of the image shows dark streaks running down the crater walls that are likely due to small dust avalanches. The larger nearby crater has a well developed central peak and fluidized ejecta material that covers part of the eroded crater to the top of the image. The morphology of the ejecta suggests the impact may have occurred in a volatile rich surface.

[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