Nili Fossae

The channels in this VIS image are part of Nili Fossae. Nili Fossae is a collection of curved faults and down-dropped blocks of crust between the faults (called graben). The graben lie northeast of the large volcano Syrtis Major and northwest of the ancient impact basin Isidis Planitia. The graben make concentric curves that follow the outline of Isidis Planitia; the faults likely formed as the crust sagged under the weight of lava flows filling the Isidis basin.

Orbit Number: 79485 Latitude: 25.7316 Longitude: 78.4041 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2019-11-15 02:51

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.