What is it?

This VIS image shows part of a complex channel system located in northern Arabia Terra. While there are many unnamed channels in region, this one is very long and substantial in width. The uniform width over much of the length of the feature, and the straightness of the channel sections may indicate these are tectonic features rather than channels caused by fluid action. The fact that this feature is not called a vallis or valles (fluid flow channels) indicates that those who have studied this feature lean towards the tectonic origin for the channels.

Orbit Number: 87261 Latitude: 36.7761 Longitude: 27.9326 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2021-08-16 09:13

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.