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Today's VIS image shows part of Iani Chaos. Chaos terrain is typified by mesas and valleys. The initial breakup of the land is due to tectonic forces. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas grow smaller. This image shows a cross section of Iani Chaos and the different scales of the mesas are readily visible.

Orbit Number: 85965 Latitude: -2.34566 Longitude: 341.408 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-05-01 15:58

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.