Floor of Ius Chasma
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Floor of Ius Chasma
PSP_002538_1720  Science Theme: Other
Ius Chasma is one of several canyons that make up Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the Solar System.

The canyons likely formed by extension in association with the development of the Tharsis plateau and volcanoes to the west. Wind and possibly water have modified the canyons after they formed.

This observation shows the floor of Ius Chasma. The floor is bounded to the north and south by higher standing wallrock, with a few exposures of wallrock seen in the north (top) of the picture. Much of the floor is covered by ripples that are oriented approximately north-south, indicating an east to west wind flow, parallel to the orientation of Ius Chasma.

Layered deposits and bright patches of material are also seen along portions of the Ius Chasma floor. The layered deposits appear distinct in morphology from the nearby wallrock. These layered deposits could be lava flows, sediments deposited in a former lake, or fines that settled out from the atmosphere over time, such as dust or volcanic ash.

The bright outcrops visible further south in the image have been seen elsewhere in Valles Marineris as well as other locations on Mars and tend to have mineral signatures consistent with sulfates. Data from the CRISM instrument (also on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) of the composition of these bright patches in Ius Chasma could shed insight into their origin.



Written by: Cathy Weitz  (21 February 2007)
 
Acquisition date
10 February 2007

Local Mars time
15:43

Latitude (centered)
-8.006°

Longitude (East)
278.403°

Spacecraft altitude
265.7 km (165.1 miles)

Original image scale range
26.6 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~80 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
0.1°

Phase angle
56.2°

Solar incidence angle
56°, with the Sun about 34° above the horizon

Solar longitude
181.4°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  11.2°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (864MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (437MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (385MB)
non-map           (510MB)

IRB color
map projected  (145MB)
non-map           (395MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (204MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (208MB)

RGB color
non map           (385MB)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.