THEMIS Mapping Mission Image: Gullied Craters 41deg S
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This scene shows gullies superposed on the inner walls of four large craters. Most of these gullies appear to emanate from one or two specific layers along the inner crater’s entire circumference. The presence of gullies on the equatorward facing slopes is unusual in that most gullied inner crater walls are poleward facing. It appears that there are several distinct layers from which the gullies issue forth as well as different expressions and possibly types and or ages of gully development. Some gullies appear to originate in the uppermost layers and others in lower layers. An atmospheric haze is also visible in the poleward facing slopes of the craters. This haze is visible in the original data but has been enhanced by image processing. The small elliptical crater in the lower left contains evidence of downslope flow on the floor. The largest crater in this scene has a central peak with a pit. Note the lack of gully development on either the central peak and pit. Most craters in this region are filled and mantled (covered in dust) or “softened”. This image is approximately 22 km wide and 60 km in length; north is toward the top.
Note: This 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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