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Mars Odyssey Project Manager Gaylon McSmith

Mars Odyssey Project Manager Gaylon McSmith, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

October 15, 2010

Mars Odyssey Project Manager Gaylon McSmith, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

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Artist rendering of commercial Mars satellites providing communications back to Earth.
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Artist rendering of commercial Mars satellites providing communications back to Earth.
Artist's Concept of Mars Satellites
First THEMIS Image of Mars
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First THEMIS Image of Mars
First THEMIS Image of Mars
Download a PDF of the Mars Odyssey Fact Sheet.
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Odyssey fact sheet
Odyssey Fact Sheet
This mosaic image of Valles Marineris - colored to resemble the martian surface - comes from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a visible-light and infrared-sensing camera on NASA's Mars...
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This mosaic image of Valles Marineris - colored to resemble the martian surface - comes from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a visible-light and infrared-sensing camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
The Grand Canyon of Mars-Valles Marineris
A large mound of sand and dune forms are located on the floor of an unnamed crater south of Rabe Crater in Noachis Terra.
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A large mound of sand and dune forms are located on the floor of an unnamed crater south of Rabe Crater in Noachis Terra.
Rabe Crater in Noachis Terra
Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture.
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Fans and ribbons of dark sand dunes creep across the floor of Bunge Crater in response to winds blowing from the direction at the top of the picture.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Bunge Crater Dunes
This false color image shows a region with craters of different ages located at the margin of Acidalia Planitia. This image was collected during the Northern Spring season.
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This false color image shows a region with craters of different ages located at the margin of Acidalia Planitia. This image was collected during the Northern Spring season. The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.
Cratered Acidalia Planitia
The Odyssey spacecraft was launched toward Mars on April 7, 2001 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. In this four-part video series, Odyssey navigation team members explain the daily challenges of steeri...
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Challenges of Getting to Mars: Aerobraking
Challenges of Getting to Mars: Aerobraking
The artist's animation depicts how NASA's Curiosity rover will communicate with Earth during landing. As the rover descends to Mars, it will send out basic radio-frequency tones that go directly to...
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Curiosity Speaks
Curiosity Speaks
Fly Through Mariner Valley
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Fly Through Mariner Valley
Fly Through Mariner Valley
Spider Web Pattern
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Spider Web Pattern
Spider Web Pattern
A false-color mosaic focuses on one junction in Noctis Labyrinthus where canyons meet to form a depression 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep.
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A false-color mosaic focuses on one junction in Noctis Labyrinthus where canyons meet to form a depression 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Noctis Canyon
Valleys much younger than well-known ancient valley networks on Mars are evident near the informally named "Heart Lake" on Mars. This map presents color-coded topographical information overlaid ont...
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Valleys much younger than well-known ancient valley networks on Mars are evident near the informally named "Heart Lake" on Mars. This map presents color-coded topographical information overlaid onto a photo mosaic. Lower elevations are indicated with white and purple; higher elevations, yellow.
Landscape of Former Lakes and Streams on Northern Mars
A "Grand Canyon of Mars" slices across the Red Planet near its equator.
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1128_LA_Basin.jpg
Mars Canyon with Los Angeles for Scale
This mosaic of infrared images shows the abundance and location of hematite at Opportunity's landing site, Meridiani Planum. On Earth, hematite is a mineral that typically forms in water.
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This mosaic of infrared images shows the abundance and location of hematite at Opportunity's landing site, Meridiani Planum. On Earth, hematite is a mineral that typically forms in water.
Meridiani Planum
Artist’s concept of Comet Siding Spring approaching Mars, shown with NASA’s orbiters preparing to make science observations of this unique encounter.
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Artist's concept of Comet Siding Spring approaching Mars, shown with NASA's orbiters preparing to make science observations of this unique encounter.
NASA's Mars Orbiters Maneuvers as Comet Siding Spring Approaching Mars
On the southwest edge of the immense volcanic region of Tharsis, lava from its giant volcanoes flowed down to meet the old cratered landscape of Terra Sirenum.
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On the southwest edge of the immense volcanic region of Tharsis, lava from its giant volcanoes flowed down to meet the old cratered landscape of Terra Sirenum.
Terra Sirenum
This THEMIS visible image shows a close-up view of the ridged plains in Hesperia Planum. This region is the classic locality for martian surfaces that formed in the "middle ages" of martian history.
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This THEMIS visible image shows a close-up view of the ridged plains in Hesperia Planum. This region is the classic locality for martian surfaces that formed in the "middle ages" of martian history. The absolute age of these surfaces is not well known. However, using the abundance of impact craters, it is possible to determine that the Hesperian plains are younger than the ancient cratered terrains that dominate the southern hemisphere, and are older than low-lying plains of the northern hemisphere. In this image it is possible to see that this surface has a large number of 1-3 km diameter craters, indicating that this region is indeed very old and has subjected to a long period of bombardment. A large (80 km diameter) crater occurs just to the north (above) this image. The material that was thrown out onto the surface when the crater was formed ("crater ejecta") can be seen at the top of the THEMIS image. This ejecta material has been heavily eroded and modified since its formation, but there are hints of lobate flow features within the ejecta. Lobate ejecta deposits are thought to indicate that ice was present beneath the surface when the crater was formed, leading to these unusual lobate features. Many of the Hesperian plains are characterized by ridged surfaces. These ridges can be easily seen in the MOLA context image, and several can be seen cutting across the lower portion of the THEMIS image. These "wrinkle" ridges are thought to be the result of compression (squeezing) of the lavas that form these plains.
Hesperia Planum
This unnamed channel is located in Xanthe Terra.
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This unnamed channel is located in Xanthe Terra.
Channel in Xanthe Terra
Chasma Boreale is a long, flat-floored valley that cuts deep into Mars' north polar icecap
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Chasma Boreale is a long, flat-floored valley that cuts deep into Mars' north polar icecap
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Chasma Boreale
Planum Boreum crater
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Planum Boreum crater
Planum Boreum crater
The annotated area of Mars in this illustration holds near-surface water ice that would be easily accessible for astronauts to dig up. The water ice was identified as part of a map using data from ...
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The annotated area of Mars in this illustration holds near-surface water ice that would be easily accessible for astronauts to dig up. The water ice was identified as part of a map using data from NASA orbiters.
Water Ice Marked on Mars Globe
This image of a crater in Acidalia Planitia was acquired March 8, 2003, during northern summer.
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This image of a crater in Acidalia Planitia was acquired March 8, 2003, during northern summer.
Acidalia Planitia Crater
This image from NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft shows part of the caldera floor of Arsia Mons. Arsia Mons is the southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes. It is 270 miles in diameter, almost 12 mi...
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Investigating Mars: Arsia Mons
Investigating Mars: Arsia Mons
Seen shortly after local Martian sunrise, clouds gather in the summit pit, or caldera, of Pavonis Mons, a giant volcano on Mars, in this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on N...
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Seen shortly after local Martian sunrise, clouds gather in the summit pit, or caldera, of Arsia Mons, a giant volcano on Mars, in this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Morning Clouds Atop Martian Mountain

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