Context image

Today's image shows the region near the south polar cap called Angustus Labyrinthus, which is defined by the linear ridges. The Odyssey spacecraft orbit is near the day/night terminator, which means looking at the surface near dawn and dusk. This image was taken in the late afternoon and the low sun angle casts shadows behind the taller peaks. The shadows show the topography of the ridges, which is hard to see from above.

Orbit Number: 67658 Latitude: -81.3907 Longitude: 296.204 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2017-03-15 21:34

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.