NASA Mars Odyssey THEMIS Image: Wonders of Eos Chasma

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Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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The slopes and floor of Eos Chasma, a portion of the vast Valles Marineris canyon complex, are located near an early landing site for the MER rovers. Sadly, this site was eliminated due to serious concerns about winds. Nevertheless, this site contains some marvelous geology. Layered rocks abound in the walls of the canyon as well as in the large streamlined material on the floor. The streamlined island appears to have been formed in a massive flood episode. Alluvial fans can also be seen at the base of the slopes. One fan has a deeply entrenched channel that was most likely carved out by water; however, it may be possible that dry avalanches created this channel.

[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