NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Eroding Lava Flows

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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Today’s image illustrates how radically the wind can

affect the surface of Mars. The lava flows in this

region have been covered by fine materials, and eroded

by the sand blasting action of the wind. In this region

the winds are blowing to the west, eroding the lava surface

to form small east/west ridges and bumps. Given enough time

the winds will change the appearance of the surface to

such a large extent that all flow features will be erased.

[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