A Different Medusae Fossae Formation

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Caption:

Released 10 October 2003

The western-most mound of the discontinuous deposit of Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) shows a style of erosion different from the typical. The MFF commonly displays a range of yardang features, the boat hull shaped ridges that result from wind erosion, like those seen in a previous THEMIS image (Yardangs in Medusa Fossae) . The current image shows no obvious yardangs and instead shows pits and troughs that appear to be due to collapse rather than wind erosion.

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude 2.6, Longitude 139.7 East (220.3 West). 19 meter/pixel resolution.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

Background Info:

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, 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.

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