3D Projection onto MOLA data

The MOLA context image of Kasei Valles suggests the observed channels may be partly structurally controlled due to their rectilinear pattern. However, the high-resolution THEMIS image shows grooves within the channels that can be interpreted as evidence for fluvial activity. This relationship suggests that the initial channel formation was structurally controlled, and that once formed, the channels provided a conduit for movement of material.

Note: this THEMIS visual 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 information: VIS instrument. Latitude 15.2, Longitude 288.3 East (71.7 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.