Melas Chasma

This VIS image is located in Melas Chasma. The linear and arcuate features at the top of the image are on the surface of a large landslide. This region of Melas Chasma is covered by several very large landslide deposits. Melas Chasma is part of the largest canyon system on Mars, Valles Marineris. At only 563 km long (349 miles) Melas is not the longest canyon, but it is the widest. Located in the center of Valles Marineris, it has depths up to 9,000 meters (30,000 feet) from the surrounding plains. In addition to landslide deposits, there are layered materials and sand dunes. There is evidence of both water and wind action as modes of formation for many of the interior deposits.

Orbit Number: 80264 Latitude: -11.2236 Longitude: 289.776 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2020-01-18 06:05

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.