THEMIS Fact Sheet

The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) is a special camera on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. Its main tasks are mapping rock mineralogies and detecting heat, which yields information on the physical and thermal properties of the martian surface.

• THEMIS is a multi-wavelength camera
• 5 visual bands:
  0.425 microns, 0.540 microns, 0.654 microns, 0.749 microns, 0.860 microns
• 10 infrared bands:
  6.78 microns (used twice), 7.93 microns, 8.56 microns, 9.35 microns,10.21 microns, 11.04 microns, 11.79 microns, 12.57 microns, 14.88 microns
• Resolution:
  visual images, 59 feet (18 meters) per pixel
  infrared images, 328 feet (100 meters) per pixel
• Chief Science Goals
  • Look for rocks altered by water
  • Study geologic details on Mars
  • Hunt for "hot spots" indicating underground hydrothermal systems
• Principal Investigator
  Philip Christensen, Arizona State University
• More details on THEMIS (1.1MB PDF)

Mars Odyssey Mission Fact Sheet

• Launched: April 7, 2001, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida
• Cruise to Mars: about 200 days
• Mars arrival: October 24, 2001
• Aerobraking: completed January 2002
• Science mapping: began February 18, 2002
• Spacecraft mass (fueled): 1,671 pounds (758 kilograms)
• Main instruments:
  1. Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS)
  2. Gamma-ray Spectrometer (GRS)
  3. Mars Radiation Environment Experiment (MARIE)

Mars Odyssey site at Jet Propulsion Laboratory