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Originally published in Science Express on 5 June 2003
Science 27 June 2003:
Vol. 300. no. 5628, pp. 2056 - 2061
DOI: 10.1126/science.1080885
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Research Articles

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. Wyatt1

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 after their formation. Kilometer-scale exposures of bedrockare observed; elsewhere airfall dust completely mantles the surface over thousands of square kilometers. Mars has compositional variations at 100-meter 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 water frost in the north polar cap. No thermal signatures associated with endogenic heat sources have been identified.

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

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