Gorgonum Chaos

This VIS image shows part of Gorgonum Chaos. Chaos terrain is typified by regions of blocky, often steep sided, mesas interspersed with deep valleys. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas become smaller. Chaotic regions form when groundwater escapes to the surface, undermining it and causing the ground to collapse. The linear depressions at the bottom of the image are part of Sirenum Fossae. Gorgonum Chaos is located in Terra Sirenum.

Orbit Number: 92266 Latitude: -36.8519 Longitude: 189.676 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-10-02 10:57

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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.