NASA Mars Orbiter Captures Volcano Peeking Above Morning Cloud Tops

a year ago

NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter captures a new panorama of Arsia Mons, one of Mars' largest volcanoes, peeking through clouds at dawn.
Arsia Mons is part of the Tharsis Montes, often surrounded by water ice clouds, especially in the early morning.
This is the first time a volcano has been imaged on Mars’ horizon, offering a perspective similar to astronauts viewing Earth from the ISS.
Odyssey, the longest-running mission orbiting another planet, began capturing high-altitude images of the Martian horizon in 2023.
The spacecraft rotates 90 degrees to snap these images, allowing scientists to study dust and water ice cloud layers.
Seasonal differences in the images provide new insights into how Mars’ atmosphere evolves over time.
Understanding Mars’ clouds is crucial for studying the planet’s weather and phenomena like dust storms, aiding future missions.
Arsia Mons stands 12 miles high, twice as tall as Earth’s Mauna Loa, and is the cloudiest of the Tharsis volcanoes.
The THEMIS camera on Odyssey can view Mars in visible and infrared light, helping identify subsurface water ice and study Mars’ moons.
The Mars Odyssey Project is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, with Lockheed Martin Space building the spacecraft.

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