Status Report

NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Hebes Chasma Dust Avalanches

By SpaceRef Editor

June 7, 2005

Filed under Daily Themis Pictures, Mars, Mars Odyssey THEMIS, US

Image Context:

Context image for 20050607A

Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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Parameter	Value		Parameter	Value
Latitude	-1.4	&nbsp	Instrument	VIS
Longitude	286.6E (73.4W)	&nbsp	Resolution (m)	17
Image Size (pixels)	702×1036	&nbsp	Image Size (km)	12.6×18.5

Dust avalanches, also called slope streaks, occur on many

Martian terrains. The deposition of airborne dust on surfaces

causes a bright tone in the THEMIS VIS images. Any movement

of the dust downhill, a dust avalanche, will leave behind

a streak where the darker, dust-free surface is exposed.

These dust avalanches are located in Hebes Chasma.

[Source: ASU THEMIS Science Team]

Note: this THEMIS visual 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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