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PIA14169: Layers?
It is sometimes difficult to figure out the history of the surface of Mars as seen in visible wavelength images. This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey is located on the northern margin of Hellas Basin and hints at a layered surface.
 Mission:  2001 Mars Odyssey 
 Spacecraft:  2001 Mars Odyssey
 Instrument:  THEMIS 
 Product Size:  667 x 1468 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Arizona State University 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA14169.tif (980.4 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA14169.jpg (128.9 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:

Context image for PIA14169
Context image

It is sometimes difficult to figure out the history of the surface of Mars as seen in visible wavelength images. Today's VIS image is located on the northern margin of Hellas Basin and hints at a layered surface. However, the differences in image tone could be due to other factors of the surface geology.

Orbit Number: 41618 Latitude: -23.3073 Longitude: 70.4754 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2011-05-03 02:21

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/ASU

Image Addition Date:
2011-05-30