|
Collection:
|
|
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
|
|
Title:
|
|
Coprates Chasma
Title
Coprates Chasma
Title
|
|
Original Caption Released with Image:
|
|
(Released 21 May 2002)
The Science
This THEMIS visible image shows the northern interior wall of Coprates Chasma, one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris. The cliff face seen in this image drops over 8 km from the plateau of Ophir Planum to the north (top) to the floor of Coprates. A complex set of ridges and chutes has been eroded into the layered rock that forms the canyon walls. Streamers of bright and dark material can be seen in many of the chutes, suggesting that loose material (sediment) is moving down the chutes toward the canyon floor. In many places this sediment has completely buried the wall. The uppermost layers near the rim of the canyon are brighter than the lower layers, suggesting that the upper layers are composed of different materials than occur further down the wall. Very few small impact craters can be seen in this image, indicating that the erosion and transport of material down the canyon wall and across the floor is occurring at a relatively rapid rate, so that any craters that form are rapidly buried or eroded.
The Story
From the smooth plateau of Ophir Planum (top of image), the dramatic canyon wall of Coprates Chasma falls in chutes and ridges for almost five miles to the dark floor of the canyon, where one lone, brooding impact crater can be seen. It is a rare sight in this part of the canyon, because all of the erosion on the cliff face happens so fast that most craters are rapidly buried or eroded.
You can see how looser material is transported down the canyon by observing all of the bright and dark streaks streaming down the wall. A particularly good example of this continuing descent is in the left-most canyon shoot, where material has tumbled down into its center crevice, gathering in a pile about mid-way down (left-hand side of the image, right at the point where the bright material meets the dark).
A canyon like this one is kind of like a slice through the geologic history of the planet. Each layer in the rock formed at different times, with different materials. You can tell that the bright material in this image is made of different rocks and minerals than the darker layers toward the bottom.
If a lander or a rover ever went to study a Martian canyon up close, a good place to land would be at the bottom. That's because all of the rock and soil from the top layers are carried down to the bottom. Without needing to climb up the steep canyon wall for a closer look, scientific instruments on the lander or rover would be able to study all the different kinds of materials right there at the bottom and determine what kinds of rock and soil formed through the ages.
Coprates Chasma is one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system. If Valles Marineris were on Earth, it would stretch all the way from California to Washington, D.C. Since it also slices a few miles down into the planet's interior, it's the perfect place to study the geological history of
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
(Released 21 May 2002)
The Science
This THEMIS visible image shows the northern interior wall of Coprates Chasma, one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris. The cliff face seen in this image drops over 8 km from the plateau of Ophir Planum to the north (top) to the floor of Coprates. A complex set of ridges and chutes has been eroded into the layered rock that forms the canyon walls. Streamers of bright and dark material can be seen in many of the chutes, suggesting that loose material (sediment) is moving down the chutes toward the canyon floor. In many places this sediment has completely buried the wall. The uppermost layers near the rim of the canyon are brighter than the lower layers, suggesting that the upper layers are composed of different materials than occur further down the wall. Very few small impact craters can be seen in this image, indicating that the erosion and transport of material down the canyon wall and across the floor is occurring at a relatively rapid rate, so that any craters that form are rapidly buried or eroded.
The Story
From the smooth plateau of Ophir Planum (top of image), the dramatic canyon wall of Coprates Chasma falls in chutes and ridges for almost five miles to the dark floor of the canyon, where one lone, brooding impact crater can be seen. It is a rare sight in this part of the canyon, because all of the erosion on the cliff face happens so fast that most craters are rapidly buried or eroded.
You can see how looser material is transported down the canyon by observing all of the bright and dark streaks streaming down the wall. A particularly good example of this continuing descent is in the left-most canyon shoot, where material has tumbled down into its center crevice, gathering in a pile about mid-way down (left-hand side of the image, right at the point where the bright material meets the dark).
A canyon like this one is kind of like a slice through the geologic history of the planet. Each layer in the rock formed at different times, with different materials. You can tell that the bright material in this image is made of different rocks and minerals than the darker layers toward the bottom.
If a lander or a rover ever went to study a Martian canyon up close, a good place to land would be at the bottom. That's because all of the rock and soil from the top layers are carried down to the bottom. Without needing to climb up the steep canyon wall for a closer look, scientific instruments on the lander or rover would be able to study all the different kinds of materials right there at the bottom and determine what kinds of rock and soil formed through the ages.
Coprates Chasma is one of the major canyons that form Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system. If Valles Marineris were on Earth, it would stretch all the way from California to Washington, D.C. Since it also slices a few miles down into the planet's interior, it's the perfect place to study the geological history of
Original Caption Released with Image
|
|
Original Caption Released with Image:
|
|
Mars.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Mars.
Original Caption Released with Image
|
|
Image Credit:
|
|
NASA/JPL/Arizona State University
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/Arizona State University
Image Credit
|
|
Produced By:
|
|
Arizona State University
Produced_By
Arizona State University
Produced By
|
|
Mission:
|
|
2001 Mars Odyssey
Mission
2001 Mars Odyssey
Mission
|
|
Spacecraft:
|
|
2001 Mars Odyssey
Spacecraft
2001 Mars Odyssey
Spacecraft
|
|
Target Name:
|
|
Mars
Target_Name
Mars
Target Name
|
|
Is a satellite of:
|
|
Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
|
|
Instrument:
|
|
Thermal Emission Imaging System
Instrument
Thermal Emission Imaging System
Instrument
|
|
Product Size:
|
|
1235 samples x 3043 lines
Product_Size
1235 samples x 3043 lines
Product Size
|
|
Producer ID:
|
|
20020521A
Producer_ID
20020521A
Producer ID
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Crater
facet_what
Crater
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Mars
facet_what
Mars
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
2001 Mars Odyssey
facet_what
2001 Mars Odyssey
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
FAST
facet_what
FAST
facet_what
|
|
facet_what:
|
|
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS)
facet_what
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS)
facet_what
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Mars
facet_where
Mars
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Arizona
facet_where
Arizona
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
California
facet_where
California
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Washington
facet_where
Washington
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
|
|
facet_when:
|
|
21 May 2002
facet_when
21 May 2002
facet_when
|
|
facet_when_year:
|
|
2002
facet_when_year
2002
facet_when_year
|
|
Image #:
|
|
PIA03809
|
|
UID:
|
|
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03809
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03809
UID
|
|
orignial url:
|
orignial_url
orignial url
|
