Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Western Arcadia Planitia
Original Caption Released with Image:
This is a Mars Odyssey visible color image of an unnamed crater in western Arcadia Planitia (near 39 degrees N, 179 degrees E). The crater shows a number of interesting internal and external features that suggest that it has undergone substantial modification since it formed. These features include concentric layers and radial streaks of brighter, redder materials inside the crater, and a heavily degraded rim and ejecta blanket. The patterns inside the crater suggest that material has flowed or slumped towards the center. Other craters with features like this have been seen at both northern and southern mid latitudes The distribution of these kinds of craters suggests the possible influence of surface or subsurface ice in the formation of these enigmatic features. The image was taken on September 29, 2002 during late northern spring. This is an approximate true color image, generated from a long strip of visible red (654 nm), green (540 nm), and blue (425 nm) filter images that were calibrated using a combination of pre-flight measurements and Hubble images of Mars. The colors appear perhaps a bit darker than one might expect; this is most likely because the images were acquired in late afternoon (roughly 4:40 p.m. local solar time) and the low Sun angle results in an overall darker surface.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The thermal emission imaging system was provided by Arizona State University, Tempe. 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/Arizona State University/Cornell University
Produced By:
Arizona State University
Mission:
2001 Mars Odyssey
Spacecraft:
2001 Mars Odyssey
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Thermal Emission Imaging System
Product Size:
686 samples x 960 lines
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Crater
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
2001 Mars Odyssey
facet_what:
Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS)
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.
facet_when:
September 29, 2002
facet_when_year:
2002
Image #:
PIA04263
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA04263
orignial url:

Western Arcadia Planitia