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Dr. Bill Boynton

Dr. Bill Boynton, Principal Investigator for the Gamma Ray Spectrometer suite of instruments

August 24, 2004

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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This mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS images shows landslides flowed over 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the floor of Melas Chasma.
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This mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS images shows landslides flowed over 100 kilometers (62 miles) across the floor of Melas Chasma.
mosaic of day and night infrared THEMIS
A lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse and Mars has a close encounter with a comet.
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What's Up for October?
What's Up for October?
NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001.
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NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft passes above Mars' south pole in this artist's concept illustration. The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since October 24, 2001.
Odyssey over Mars' South Pole
Download a PDF of the Explore Mars Sticker.
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Explore Mars Sticker
Explore Mars Sticker
2906_HighViewOfMidCanyonMelas.jpg
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2906_HighViewOfMidCanyonMelas.jpg
High View of Melas
This image shows two small tributaries, just east of where they join Shalbatana Vallis.
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This image shows two small tributaries, just east of where they join Shalbatana Vallis.
Shalbatana Vallis
This lunar-like scene occurs along the southeastern rim of the Isidis Planitia basin. The Isidis basin is an ancient impact crater some 1200 km across that is found along the boundary separating th...
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This lunar-like scene occurs along the southeastern rim of the Isidis Planitia basin. The Isidis basin is an ancient impact crater some 1200 km across that is found along the boundary separating the heavily-cratered southern highland terrain of Mars from the northern lowlands. Elements of both terrains are evident in this image as an island of rugged highland terrain surrounded by smoother lowland terrain. The resurfacing of the Isidis basin produced a system of wrinkle ridges, some of which are seen on the lowland terrain in the image. Wrinkle ridges are a common feature on the surface of the moon and add to the lunar-like quality of this image. Layers are visible in the large island, the most resistant of which likely are from lava flows that created the highland terrain. The process by which the global-scale highland/lowland dichotomy was created remains a mystery.
Isidis Rim
A group of small, unnamed craters in the martian southern hemisphere is the first site captured by a group of middle school students who are operating the camera system onboard NASA's Mars Odyssey ...
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Students looking at a computer while participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project
Students participating in the Mars Student Imaging Project
Artist rendering of commercial Mars satellites providing communications back to Earth.
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Artist rendering of commercial Mars satellites providing communications back to Earth.
Artist's Concept of Mars Satellites
The Odyssey spacecraft was launched toward Mars on April 7, 2001 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. In this four-part video series, Odyssey navigation team members explain the daily challenges of steeri...
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Challenges of Getting to Mars: Aerobraking
Challenges of Getting to Mars: Aerobraking
A large sandsheet with surface dune forms is shown in today's image of Aonia Terra.
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A large sandsheet with surface dune forms is shown in today's image of Aonia Terra.
Dunes in Aonia Terra
This region of Terra Sabaea contains areas with high densities of small craters.
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This region of Terra Sabaea contains areas with high densities of small craters.
Lot of Craters in Terra Sabaea
This THEMIS visible image shows a close-up view of the ridged plains in Hesperia Planum. This region is the classic locality for martian surfaces that formed in the "middle ages" of martian history.
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This THEMIS visible image shows a close-up view of the ridged plains in Hesperia Planum. This region is the classic locality for martian surfaces that formed in the "middle ages" of martian history. The absolute age of these surfaces is not well known. However, using the abundance of impact craters, it is possible to determine that the Hesperian plains are younger than the ancient cratered terrains that dominate the southern hemisphere, and are older than low-lying plains of the northern hemisphere. In this image it is possible to see that this surface has a large number of 1-3 km diameter craters, indicating that this region is indeed very old and has subjected to a long period of bombardment. A large (80 km diameter) crater occurs just to the north (above) this image. The material that was thrown out onto the surface when the crater was formed ("crater ejecta") can be seen at the top of the THEMIS image. This ejecta material has been heavily eroded and modified since its formation, but there are hints of lobate flow features within the ejecta. Lobate ejecta deposits are thought to indicate that ice was present beneath the surface when the crater was formed, leading to these unusual lobate features. Many of the Hesperian plains are characterized by ridged surfaces. These ridges can be easily seen in the MOLA context image, and several can be seen cutting across the lower portion of the THEMIS image. These "wrinkle" ridges are thought to be the result of compression (squeezing) of the lavas that form these plains.
Hesperia Planum
Five decades of successful NASA missions to the Red Planet, 1965-2015.
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50 Years of Mars Exploration
50 Years of Mars Exploration
On the southwest edge of the immense volcanic region of Tharsis, lava from its giant volcanoes flowed down to meet the old cratered landscape of Terra Sirenum.
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On the southwest edge of the immense volcanic region of Tharsis, lava from its giant volcanoes flowed down to meet the old cratered landscape of Terra Sirenum.
Terra Sirenum
Seen shortly after local Martian sunrise, clouds gather in the summit pit, or caldera, of Pavonis Mons, a giant volcano on Mars, in this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on N...
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Seen shortly after local Martian sunrise, clouds gather in the summit pit, or caldera, of Arsia Mons, a giant volcano on Mars, in this image from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
Morning Clouds Atop Martian Mountain
NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander, its backshell and its heatshield are visible within this enhanced-color image of the Phoenix landing site taken on Jan. 6, 2010 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Ex...
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Phoenix Lander Amid Disappearing Spring Ice
Phoenix Lander Amid Disappearing Spring Ice
Newly detailed mapping of local variations in Mars' gravitational pull on orbiters (center), combined with topographical mapping of the planet's mountains and valleys (left), yields the best-yet ma...
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Newly detailed mapping of local variations in Mars' gravitational pull on orbiters (center), combined with topographical mapping of the planet's mountains and valleys (left), yields the best-yet mapping of Mars' crustal thickness (right).
Using Gravity and Topography to Map Mars' Crustal Thickness
A new map of Mars' gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet. Satellites always orbit a planet's...
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Mars Gravity Map
Mars Gravity Map
This false-color map shows the area within Gale Crater on Mars, where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (Aug. 6, 2012 EDT).
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This false-color map shows the area within Gale Crater on Mars, where NASA's Curiosity rover landed on Aug. 5, 2012 PDT (Aug. 6, 2012 EDT).
Downslope of the Fan
This false color image shows a region with craters of different ages located at the margin of Acidalia Planitia. This image was collected during the Northern Spring season.
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This false color image shows a region with craters of different ages located at the margin of Acidalia Planitia. This image was collected during the Northern Spring season. The THEMIS VIS camera is capable of capturing color images of the Martian surface using five different color filters. In this mode of operation, the spatial resolution and coverage of the image must be reduced to accommodate the additional data volume produced from using multiple filters. To make a color image, three of the five filter images (each in grayscale) are selected. Each is contrast enhanced and then converted to a red, green, or blue intensity image. These three images are then combined to produce a full color, single image. Because the THEMIS color filters don't span the full range of colors seen by the human eye, a color THEMIS image does not represent true color. Also, because each single-filter image is contrast enhanced before inclusion in the three-color image, the apparent color variation of the scene is exaggerated. Nevertheless, the color variation that does appear is representative of some change in color, however subtle, in the actual scene. Note that the long edges of THEMIS color images typically contain color artifacts that do not represent surface variation.
Cratered Acidalia Planitia
Interact with this 3D model of Mars Odyssey.
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3D model of Odyssey
Mars Odyssey Orbiter, 3D Model
No NASA Mars orbiter has been in a position to observe morning daylight on Mars since the twin Viking orbiters of the 1970s.
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No NASA Mars orbiter has been in a position to observe morning daylight on Mars since the twin Viking orbiters of the 1970s.
Martian Morning Clouds Seen by Viking Orbiter 1 in 1976
This unnamed channel drains part of Margaritifer Terra.
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This unnamed channel drains part of Margaritifer Terra.
Channel in Margaritifer Terra.
NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet...
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NASA Science missions circle Earth, the Sun, the Moon, Mars and many other destinations within our solar system, including spacecraft that look out even further into our universe. The Science Fleet depicts the scope of NASA's activity and how our missions have traveled throughout the solar system.
SMD Spacecraft Fleet

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