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This VIS image shows part of the 'rim' of Orcus Patera. How Orcus Patera formed is a mystery. Along the east facing ridge walls in this image multiple regions of dark slope streaks are visible. It is believed these features formed due to down slope movement of materials, either revealing darker rock beneath a dusty cover, or a coating of the surface with another material.

Orbit Number: 71859 Latitude: 14.916 Longitude: 177.42 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-02-25 01:02

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.