Andrew Yee
March 13th 06, 09:45 PM
Guy Webster (818) 354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Dwayne Brown/Erica Hupp (202) 358-1726/1237
NASA Headquarters, Washington
March 13, 2006
IMAGE ADVISORY: 2006-035
Years of Observing Combined Into Best-Yet Look at Mars Canyon
A new view of the biggest canyon in the solar system, merging hundreds of
photos from NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, offers scientists and the public
an online resource for exploring the entire canyon in detail.
This canyon system on Mars, named Valles Marineris, stretches as far as
the distance from California to New York. Steep walls nearly as high as
Mount Everest give way to numerous side canyons, possibly carved by
water. In places, walls have shed massive landslides spilling far out
onto the canyon floor.
A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available
online at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/missions/odyssey/20060313.html
The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the
large image are at
http://themis.asu.edu
"We picked Valles Marineris to make this first mosaic because it's
probably the most complex, interesting feature on the entire planet,"
said Dr. Phil Christensen of Arizona State University, Tempe. He is the
principal investigator for Mars Odyssey's versatile camera, the Thermal
Emission Imaging System. "To understand many of the processes on Mars --
erosion, landsliding and the effects of water -- you really need to have
a big-picture view but still be able to see the details."
Small parts of the canyon have been seen at higher resolution, but at 100
meters (328 feet) per pixel, the new view has sharper resolution than any
previous imaging of the entire canyon.
In addition to the completed mosaic of Valles Marineris images, the
camera team has also prepared an online data set of nearly the entire
planet of Mars at 232 meters (760 feet) per pixel, the most detailed
global view of the red planet. The team plans to post 100-meter-resolution
mosaics of other regions of Mars in coming months.
Odyssey reached Mars in 2001. The Thermal Emission Imaging System
began observing the planet systematically in February 2002 both in
visible wavelengths and in infrared wavelengths, which are better for
seeing surface details through Mars' atmospheric dust. As the
spacecraft passes over an area, the camera records images of swaths
32 kilometers wide (20 miles wide). More than three years of
observations made at infrared wavelengths during Martian daytime
are combined into the assembled view of Valles Marineris and the
global image data set.
Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division
of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science
Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver,
is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The
orbiter began an extended mission in August 2004 after successfully
completing its primary mission.
Video of the simulated Valles Marineris fly-through, interview excerpts
and related B-roll are available during NASA Television video file
downlinks beginning March 13, 2006. NASA TV's video file news feed is
broadcast on the agency's Media Channel (Program 103) at 12 p.m.
(Eastern), with replays at 1, 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. and 6 and 7 a.m. The
NASA TV Media Channel is available on an MPEG-2 digital C-band signal
accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder
17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. In Alaska and Hawaii, it's
available on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at
4060 MHz, horizontal polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant
Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception.
For digital downlink information for NASA TV's Media Channel (Program
103) on the Web, visit
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For media unable to receive the NASA TV Media Channel, a modified
version of Video-File airs on the NASA TV Public Channel at 9 a.m.,
5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. (Eastern). The Public Channel is accessible
on the Web, at
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web,
visit
http://www.nasa.gov
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Dwayne Brown/Erica Hupp (202) 358-1726/1237
NASA Headquarters, Washington
March 13, 2006
IMAGE ADVISORY: 2006-035
Years of Observing Combined Into Best-Yet Look at Mars Canyon
A new view of the biggest canyon in the solar system, merging hundreds of
photos from NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, offers scientists and the public
an online resource for exploring the entire canyon in detail.
This canyon system on Mars, named Valles Marineris, stretches as far as
the distance from California to New York. Steep walls nearly as high as
Mount Everest give way to numerous side canyons, possibly carved by
water. In places, walls have shed massive landslides spilling far out
onto the canyon floor.
A simulated fly-through using the newly assembled imagery is available
online at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/missions/odyssey/20060313.html
The fly-through plus tools for wandering across and zooming into the
large image are at
http://themis.asu.edu
"We picked Valles Marineris to make this first mosaic because it's
probably the most complex, interesting feature on the entire planet,"
said Dr. Phil Christensen of Arizona State University, Tempe. He is the
principal investigator for Mars Odyssey's versatile camera, the Thermal
Emission Imaging System. "To understand many of the processes on Mars --
erosion, landsliding and the effects of water -- you really need to have
a big-picture view but still be able to see the details."
Small parts of the canyon have been seen at higher resolution, but at 100
meters (328 feet) per pixel, the new view has sharper resolution than any
previous imaging of the entire canyon.
In addition to the completed mosaic of Valles Marineris images, the
camera team has also prepared an online data set of nearly the entire
planet of Mars at 232 meters (760 feet) per pixel, the most detailed
global view of the red planet. The team plans to post 100-meter-resolution
mosaics of other regions of Mars in coming months.
Odyssey reached Mars in 2001. The Thermal Emission Imaging System
began observing the planet systematically in February 2002 both in
visible wavelengths and in infrared wavelengths, which are better for
seeing surface details through Mars' atmospheric dust. As the
spacecraft passes over an area, the camera records images of swaths
32 kilometers wide (20 miles wide). More than three years of
observations made at infrared wavelengths during Martian daytime
are combined into the assembled view of Valles Marineris and the
global image data set.
Mars Odyssey is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division
of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, for NASA's Science
Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver,
is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The
orbiter began an extended mission in August 2004 after successfully
completing its primary mission.
Video of the simulated Valles Marineris fly-through, interview excerpts
and related B-roll are available during NASA Television video file
downlinks beginning March 13, 2006. NASA TV's video file news feed is
broadcast on the agency's Media Channel (Program 103) at 12 p.m.
(Eastern), with replays at 1, 5, 6, 10 and 11 p.m. and 6 and 7 a.m. The
NASA TV Media Channel is available on an MPEG-2 digital C-band signal
accessed via satellite AMC-6, at 72 degrees west longitude, transponder
17C, 4040 MHz, vertical polarization. In Alaska and Hawaii, it's
available on AMC-7 at 137 degrees west longitude, transponder 18C, at
4060 MHz, horizontal polarization. A Digital Video Broadcast compliant
Integrated Receiver Decoder is required for reception.
For digital downlink information for NASA TV's Media Channel (Program
103) on the Web, visit
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For media unable to receive the NASA TV Media Channel, a modified
version of Video-File airs on the NASA TV Public Channel at 9 a.m.,
5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. (Eastern). The Public Channel is accessible
on the Web, at
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Web,
visit
http://www.nasa.gov