Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Map of Martian Thorium at Mid-Latitudes
Original Caption Released with Image:
This gamma ray spectrometer map of the mid-latitude region of Mars is based on gamma-rays from the element thorium. Thorium is a naturally radioactive element that exists in rocks and soils in extremely small amounts. The region of highest thorium content, shown in red, is found in the northern part of Acidalia Planitia (50 degrees latitude, -30 degrees longitude). Areas of low thorium content, shown in blue, are spread widely across the planet with significant low abundances located to the north of Olympus Mons (near 55 degrees latitude, -155 degrees longitude), to the east of the Tharsis volcanoes (-10 degrees latitude, -80 degrees longitude) and to the south and east of Elysium Mons (20 degrees latitude, 160 degrees longitude). Contours of constant surface elevation are also shown. The long continuous contour line running from east to west marks the approximate separation of the younger lowlands in the north from the older highlands in the south.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The gamma ray spectrometer was provided by the University of Arizona, Tucson. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, Colo., is the prime contractor for the 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.
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Produced By:
University of Arizona
Mission:
2001 Mars Odyssey
Spacecraft:
2001 Mars Odyssey
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Gamma Ray Spectrometer Suite
Product Size:
2068 samples x 947 lines
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Spectrometer
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
2001 Mars Odyssey
facet_what:
CONTOUR
facet_what:
Gamma Ray Spectrometer Suite
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
Denver
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Arizona
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Washington
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where:
Washington, D.C.
Image #:
PIA04257
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA04257
orignial url:

Map of Martian Thorium at Mid-Latitudes