Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). http://themis.asu.edu/

This imager combines 5 visible bands with 10 infrared bands. The wavelengths were chosen to be centered in various diagnostic bands for minerals. The spatial resolution is not as fine as the highest-resolution visible-light images of the MGS, but is superior to the IR mapper of MGS. Typical spatial resolutions are about 20 m at visual wavelengths and 100 m in the IR. The TES (http://tes.asu.edu/) on the MGS has a resolution of 3 km. However, the TES could also obtain spectra with a resolution of 5-10 cm^-1.

“Etched terrain” in Meridiani Planum. Note that here light and dark do not indicate the light reflected and absorbed (or shadowed), respectively, but rather differences in temperature.

THEMIS IR images of Gusev Crater draped over MGS topography data. Temperatures run from 45 °C (black) to -5°C (white) and are due to differences in illumination. We will come back to Gusev twice more….

Left: Image of layered terrain in Candor Chasma, a canyon just north of Vallis Marineris and part of the general VM complex.

Right: Location of the image compared to a wider image of the Candor Chasma region, to “place it in context”.