NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Valley Networks

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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Valley networks are a relatively common feature in the southern highlands of
Mars. This THEMIS visible image contains several of these small
channels. Some appear clustered near the smaller crater at the top of the
image. There is still some debate over the origin of these enigmatic martian
landforms. Were they caused by overland flow after precipitation,
underground sapping, or a combination of both?

[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