Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Floating in orbit above March, the orbit of Mars Odyssey 2001 of NASA captured a panorama of the greatest volcanoes on the red planet, Arsia Mons, taking a look at a sea of clouds. The picturesque moment offers an exceptionally rare view of a Martian volcano, showing the relief at an angle in space that captures the horizon of the planet.
“We chose Arsia Mons hoping to see the summit making fun of the clouds early in the morning. And that did not disappoint,” said Jonathon Hill, the operations at the head of Odyssey’s camera and a mission planner with the ease of spatial imaging of Arizona State, said in an installation of thermal emissions, or Themis, in a statement. Themis can see Mars in the visible and infrared light.
Launched in 2001, Odyssey has been around Mars for more than two decades, studying the Martian surface. But in 2023, the orbiter began taking breathtaking panoramic views on the Martian horizon. Because Themis cannot rotate to get these amazing views, the orbiter turns to the side, turning to 90 degrees. In this way, he captured the “member” of Mars, the edge of the horizon of the planet. It is Observation of the fourth member of Themis since 2023.
Odyssey captured the image on May 2, just before dawn. In this area, Arsia Mons Keep 12 miles (20 kilometers) high and measures 70 miles (450 km) in diameter. For comparison, the largest volcano in the earth, Mauna Loa, stands at 6 miles (9 km) above the seabed and measures 75 miles (121 km) in diameter.
Arsia Mons is also one of the most now most of March and southern volcanoes of the three Tharsis volcanoes that form Tharsis Montes, or Tharsis Mountains. These mountains are often surrounded by clouds of water ice, especially early in the morning. The clouds are formed when the air expands while exploding the sides of the mountain, then cools quickly.
This point of view also allows scientists to study the Martian weather and phenomena such as dust clouds and how they change during the seasons. Odyssey could be able to capture some other of these panoramas before his possible retirement, probably at end of this year.
