Elysium Fossae

Today's VIS image contains a section of one of the many channel forms found radial to the Elysium Mons volcanic complex. In this case the fossae is located to the east of the volcano. The channel features are thought to have both a tectonic and volcanic origin. The linear depression resembles a graben (formed by tectonic forces) and the smaller sinuous channel below the large linear depression more closely resembles features caused by fluid flow — either lava or water created by melting subsurface ice by volcanic heating.

Orbit Number: 79133 Latitude: 23.9518 Longitude: 153.966 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-10-17 03:13

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey 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.