Context image

Olympica Fossae is a complex channel located on the volcanic plains between Alba Mons and Olympus Mons. The sinuosity of some of the channel sections in the the image indicates that liquid flow played a part creating these features. In this case the location and other surface features point to lava rather than water as the liquid. The interconnecting linear sections of depressions are most likely formed by the collapse of the surface into voids left by lava tubes.

Orbit Number: 88152 Latitude: 24.3724 Longitude: 245.149 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-10-28 17:53

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.