NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Melas Chasma in IR Color

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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This image shows two representations of the same infra-red image over Melas Chasma. 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.

There is a distinct purple/blue layer present in the northern wall of the Chasma. Although this layer likely has a composition different than the surrounding areas, it is difficult to interpret its specific composition due to the high variability of sunlit and shaded surfaces in this area, which cause a wide range of temperatures to be present within each pixel of the image. It is possible that this layer has a unique composition due to differences in the volcanic or sedimentary environment at the time that the rock formed, or it could be a layer of magma injected between two previously existing rock layers. Another possibility is that the wall is mostly covered by dust and debris, and this portion contains the only exposed bedrock. The light blue colors present in many other areas of the Chasma are due to water ice clouds.

[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