PIA21805: Investigating Mars: Russell Crater
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  2001 Mars Odyssey
 Spacecraft:  2001 Mars Odyssey
 Instrument:  THEMIS
 Product Size:  1767 x 2932 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Arizona State University
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA21805.tif (3.038 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA21805.jpg (295.2 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

Context image for PIA21805
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This image shows part of the dune field just south of the large sand ridge - which is visible on the very top of the image. There is a huge range of dune sizes on the floor of Russell Crater. In this image the small sizes are at the bottom of the image and transition to larger dunes at the top. Russell Crater is located in Noachis Terra. A spectacular dune ridge and other dune forms on the crater floor have caused extensive imaging.

The Odyssey spacecraft has spent over 15 years in orbit around Mars, circling the planet more than 69000 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!

Orbit Number: 34544 Latitude: -54.6035 Longitude: 12.6071 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2009-09-27 15:35

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, 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-Caltech/ASU

Image Addition Date:
2017-08-08