PIA04839: Cerberus Fossae Fractures
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  2001 Mars Odyssey
 Spacecraft:  2001 Mars Odyssey
 Instrument:  THEMIS
 Product Size:  1237 x 3025 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Arizona State University
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04839.tif (3.309 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04839.jpg (757.4 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:


Released 29 October 2003

The fractured surface of the Cerberus region southeast of the Elysium volcanoes provides an impressive example of the powerful tectonic forces that have shaped the region. Both the smooth lava plains and the mountains that poke through the lava are subject to the extensional forces that rip open the landscape. The fractures are radial to the Elysium complex, suggesting a relationship to the volcanic processes that have built it.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 8.6, Longitude 160.6 East (199.4 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.

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 Credit:
NASA/JPL/Arizona State University

Image Addition Date:
2003-10-31