THEMIS Image of the Day
, August 25, 2017. This image shows the northern side of Hebes Chasma. The large central layered mesa is just off the bottom of the image. Meeting in approximately the center of the image are materials eroded from the cliff face and mesa. The appearance of the material differs. Both the floor and central mesa are very complex features in this canyon. (More on Hebes Chasma here.)
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.