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Canyon Junction

A false-color mosaic focuses on one junction in Noctis Labyrinthus where Mars canyons meet to form a depression 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) deep.

April 01, 2012

Credit

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

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This THEMIS image of rounded hills and ridges in Arcadia Planitia shows a very intriguing geomorphic feature that may be attributed to the presence of an icy-rock mixture of material. Smooth aprons...
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This THEMIS image of rounded hills and ridges in Arcadia Planitia shows a very intriguing geomorphic feature that may be attributed to the presence of an icy-rock mixture of material. Smooth aprons of material are observed to be preferentially located on the cold, north facing slopes of hills and extend further and beyond the deposits located on other sides. These smooth deposits are in stark contrast to the more rough surfaces that dominate the scene and it has been suggested that they represent a preserved mixture of ice and rock. How exactly this deposit forms still remains a mystery. They may have been "pasted" onto the slopes and preserved on the cold facing sides or they may represent the result of downslope motion of material that is enhanced by the presence of ground ice. In either case, this interesting observation suggests that ground ice may still play an important role in the formation and preservation of martian surface features.
Arcadia Planitia
This mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS images shows landslides flowed over 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the floor of Melas Chasma.
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This mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS images shows landslides flowed over 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the floor of Melas Chasma.
mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS
West of Valles Marineris lies a checkerboard named Noctis Labyrinthus, which formed when the Martian crust stretched and fractured.
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West of Valles Marineris lies a checkerboard named Noctis Labyrinthus, which formed when the Martian crust stretched and fractured.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Noctis Vista
If a meteorite breaks in two shortly before hitting the ground, the typical bowl shape of a single impact crater becomes doubled.
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If a meteorite breaks in two shortly before hitting the ground, the typical bowl shape of a single impact crater becomes doubled.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Dual Crater
This view combines information from two instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to map color-coded composition over the shape of the ground in a small portion of the Nili Fossae plains re...
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This view combines information from two instruments on a NASA Mars orbiter to map color-coded composition over the shape of the ground within the Nili Fossae plains region of Mars. Carbonate-rich deposits in this area (coded green) hold some carbon formerly in the atmosphere's carbon dioxide.
Rocks Here Sequester Some of Mars' Early Atmosphere
This image is near the southern edge of a low, broad volcanic feature called Syrtis Major.
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This image is near the southern edge of a low, broad volcanic feature called Syrtis Major. A close look at this image reveals a wrinkly texture that indicates a very rough surface that is associated with the lava flows that cover this region. On a larger scale, there are numerous bright streaks that trail topographic features such as craters. These bright streaks are in the wind shadows of the craters where dust that settles onto the surface is not as easily scoured away. It is important to note that these streaks are only bright in a relative sense to the surrounding image. Syrtis Major is one of the darkest regions on Mars and it is as dark as fresh basalt flows or dunes are on Earth.
Syrtis Major
The floor of this unnamed crater in Aonia Terra has been filled with multiple layers of material.
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The floor of this unnamed crater in Aonia Terra has been filled with multiple layers of material.
Layered Fill
Marte Vallis, located in Amazonis Planitia, is broad and shallow. The streamlined islands at the top and bottom of the image illustrate this.
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Marte Vallis, located in Amazonis Planitia, is broad and shallow. The streamlined islands at the top and bottom of the image illustrate this.
Marte Vallis in Amazonis Planitia
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
The floor of this crater in Terra Sirenum contains layered material. The layered sedimentary material on Mars is arguably the most interesting and compelling material on the planet. These layers mo...
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The floor of this crater in Terra Sirenum contains layered material. The layered sedimentary material on Mars is arguably the most interesting and compelling material on the planet. These layers most likely contain the answers to fundamental questions about Martian geology, climate, and possibly even biology.
Terra Sirenum Crater
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
The channels in this VIS image are part of Tyrrhena Fossae on the northern flank of Tyrrhenus Mons.
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The channels in this VIS image are part of Tyrrhena Fossae on the northern flank of Tyrrhenus Mons.
Tyrrhena Fossae
This unnamed channel drains part of Margaritifer Terra.
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This unnamed channel drains part of Margaritifer Terra.
Channel in Margaritifer Terra.
Although it is 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide, countless layers of ice and dust have all but buried Udzha Crater.
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Although it is 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide, countless layers of ice and dust have all but buried Udzha Crater.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Udzha Crater
This image combines two products from the first pointing at the Martian moon Phobos by the THEMIS camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, on Sept. 29, 2017. Surface-temperature information from obse...
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Temperature Gradient on Martian Moon Phobos
Temperature Gradient on Martian Moon Phobos
Wind shadow and real shadow combine to give a striking image of a comet.
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Wind shadow and real shadow combine to give a striking image of a comet.
THEMIS Images as Art
This map of Mars indicates locations of new craters that have excavated ice (blue) and those that have not (red). The underlying map is based on the brightness, or albedo, of the Martian surface.
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This map of Mars indicates locations of new craters that have excavated ice (blue) and those that have not (red). The underlying map is based on the brightness, or albedo, of the Martian surface.
Locations of Ice-Exposing Fresh Craters on Mars
This image shows the context for orbital observations of exposed rocks that had been buried an estimated 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep on Mars.
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This image shows the context for orbital observations of exposed rocks that had been buried an estimated 5 kilometers (3 miles) deep on Mars.
Nature's Drilling Exposes Deeply Buried Minerals
Geological faulting has opened cracks in the Cerberus region that slice through flat plains and mesas alike.
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Geological faulting has opened cracks in the Cerberus region that slice through flat plains and mesas alike.
Mars Odyssey All Stars: Cerberus Crack
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
Artist's concept of future humans on Mars.
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Artist's concept of future humans on Mars.
Artist's concept of future humans on Mars.
Dr. Phil Varghese, Odyssey Project Manager.
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Dr. Phil Varghese, Odyssey Project Manager.
Dr. Phil Varghese
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
Ninth-grade, high-school students from Peoria, AZ analyze images of Mars.
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Ninth-grade, high-school students from Peoria, AZ analyze images of Mars.
Student Teams Work As Real Scientists
Researchers estimating the amount of carbon held in the ground at the largest known carbonate-containing deposit on Mars utilized data from three different NASA Mars orbiters.
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Researchers estimating the amount of carbon held in the ground at the largest known carbonate-containing deposit on Mars utilized data from five instruments on three different NASA Mars orbiters, including physical properties from THEMIS (left) and mineral information from CRISM (right).
Multiple Instruments Used for Mars Carbon Estimate

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