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Hrad Valles (Released 15 July 2002)
Context image credit: NASA/Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) Team
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| Parameter | Value | Parameter | Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latitude | 35.2 | Instrument | VIS | |
| Longitude | 140.7E (219.3W) | Resolution (m) | 19 | |
| Image Size (pixels) | 3007x1196 | Image Size (km) | 57.1x22.7 |
Hrad Valles is located north-northwest of the large Elysium Mons volcanic complex and is yet another example of a channel that likely carried fluids. The formation of Hrad Valles may have differed from some other channels on Mars in that its proximity to Elysium Mons could have promoted significant interactions between ground water or ice and the lavas of the volcano. Some scientists have suggested that very hot subsurface lavas may have intruded the local rocks and quickly melted and vaporized ground ice, causing the overlying rock to be broken up and possibly ejected. The breakup and ejection of the local rocks, combined with the newly formed volcanic rocks and melted ice, could have resulted in the formation of mudflows at the source of Hrad Valles, and over the longer term, continued release of melt water that carved the long, sinuous channel.
[Questions? Email images@themis.asu.edu]
[Source: ASU THEMIS Science Team]
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.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University
