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Published Online June 5, 2003
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1080885

Research Articles

Submitted on November 26, 2002
Accepted on May 14, 2003

Morphology and Composition of the Surface of Mars: Mars Odyssey THEMIS Results

Philip R. Christensen 1*, Joshua L. Bandfield 1, James F. Bell, III 2, Noel Gorelick 1, Victoria E. Hamilton 3, Anton Ivanov 4, Bruce M. Jakosky 5, Hugh H. Kieffer 6, Melissa D. Lane 7, Michael C. Malin 8, Timothy McConnochie 2, Alfred S McEwen 9, Harry Y. McSween Jr. 10, Greg L. Mehall 1, Jeffery E. Moersch 10, Kenneth H. Nealson 11, James W. Rice Jr. 1, Mark I. Richardson 12, Steven W. Ruff 1, Michael D. Smith 13, Timothy N. Titus 6, Michael B. Wyatt 1

1 Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-6305, USA.
2 Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-6801, USA.
3 Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
4 Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099, USA.
5 LASP, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
6 U.S. Geological Survey, Flagstaff, AZ, 86001, USA.
7 Planetary Science Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85032, USA.
8 Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, CA 92191-0148, USA.
9 Lunar and Planetary Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
10 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-1410, USA.
11 University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
12 Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
13 Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: phil.christensen{at}asu.edu.

The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on Mars Odyssey has produced infrared to visible wavelength images of the martian surface that show lithologically distinct layers with variable thickness, implying temporal changes in the processes or environments during or following their formation. Kilometer-scale exposures of bedrock are observed; elsewhere air-fall dust completely mantles the surface over thousands of square kilometers. Mars has compositional variations at 100-m scales, for example an exposure of olivine-rich basalt in the walls of Ganges Chasma. Thermally distinct ejecta facies occur around some craters with variations associated with crater age. Polar observations have identified temporal patches of H2O-frost in the north polar cap. No thermal signatures associated with endogenic heat sources have been identified.


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