![Click here for annotated version of PIA10247 Chloride Salt Deposit in Southern Highlands of Mars](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090901051428im_/http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA10247_fig1_thumb.jpg)
Annotated figure
Bright blue marks a deposit of chloride (salt) minerals in the southern
highlands of Mars in this false-color image, which highlights mineral
composition differences. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS)
camera on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter made this observation. Researchers
using THEMIS reported in March 2008 that they have found about 200 such
deposits of chloride salts. Observations by THEMIS and other instruments
orbiting Mars indicate that these deposits typically lie within
topographic depressions. The salt deposits suggest that Mars was much
wetter long ago. They point to places where water was once abundant, then
evaporated, leaving the minerals behind.
This site lies at about 221 degrees east longitude and 38.8 degrees south
latitude, within the rugged Terra Sirenum region of Mars. The view is a
portion of an image taken by THEMIS on Dec. 11, 2003. The full image is at
http://themis-data.asu.edu/img/I08831002?tab=1.
The scale bar is about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). The black rectangle
indicates the outline of a higher resolution view, available as PIA10248.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Odyssey mission for the NASA
Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Thermal Emission Imaging
System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in
collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project,
and developed and built the orbiter.