Released August 17, 2004

The THEMIS Image of the Day will be exploring the nomenclature of Mars for the next three weeks.

Elysium Planitia

• Planitia: low plain
• Elysium: the Elysian fields. The Elysian fields are a paradise where the chosen of the gods reside after death; the heaven of heroes.

Elysium Planitia is located south of Elysium Mons, a large volcano. Multiple lava flows are evident in the daytime IR image. There are also small hills and craters of various sizes.

Nomenclature Fact of the Day: Names with political, military, or religious significance are not allowed, except for names of political figures prior to the 19th century.

Image information: IR instrument. Latitude 8.1, Longitude 150.6 East (209.4 West). 100 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.