THEMIS Image of the Day, August 28, 2017. This image shows part of the southeastern flank of Ascraeus Mons. The narrow flows of the volcano dominate the top of the image — note the raised levees flanking the channels — while younger volcanic plains cover the bottom of the image. The relative age designation is based on the fact that the brighter plains flows lap up against and cover the flank flows of Ascraeus Mons.
NASA’s Mars Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69,000 times. It holds the record for longest working spacecraft at Mars. THEMIS, the IR/VIS camera system, has collected data for the entire mission and provides images covering all seasons and lighting conditions.
Over the years many features of interest have received repeated imaging, building up a suite of images covering the entire feature. From the deepest chasma to the tallest volcano, individual dunes inside craters and dune fields that encircle the north pole, channels carved by water and lava, and a variety of other feature, THEMIS has imaged them all.
For the next several months the Image of the Day will focus on the Tharsis volcanoes, the various chasmata of Valles Marineris, and the major dunes fields. We hope you enjoy these images!
More THEMIS Images of the Day by geological topic.