This image of sulfate-containing deposits in Aurorae Chaos was taken by
the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) at 0653
UTC (2:53 a.m. EDT) on June 10, 2007, near 7.5 degrees south latitude,
327.25 degrees east longitude. CRISM's image was taken in 544 colors
covering 0.36-3.92 micrometers, and shows features as small as 40 meters
(132 feet) across. The region covered is roughly 12 kilometers (7.5 miles)
wide at its narrowest point.
Aurorae Chaos lies east of the Valles Marineris canyon system. Its western
edge extends toward Capri and Eos Chasmata, while its eastern edge
connects with Aureum Chaos. Some 750 kilometers (466 miles) wide, Aurorae
Chaos is most likely the result of collapsed surface material that settled
when subsurface ice or water was released.
The top panel in the montage above shows the location of the CRISM image
on a mosaic taken by the Mars Odyssey spacecraft's Thermal Emission
Imaging System (THEMIS). The CRISM data covers an area featuring several
knobs of erosion-resistant material at one end of what appears to be a
large teardrop shaped plateau. Similar plateaus occur throughout the
interior of Valles Marineris, and they are formed of younger, typically
layered rocks that post-date formation of the canyon system. Many of the
deposits contain sulfate-rich layers, hinting at ancient saltwater.
The center left image, an infrared false color image, reveals a swath of
light-colored material draped over the knobs. The center right image
unveils the mineralogical composition of the area, with yellow
representing monohydrated sulfates (sulfates with one water molecule
incorporated into each molecule of the mineral).
The lower two images are renderings of data draped over topography with 5
times vertical exaggeration. These images provide a view of the topography
and reveal how the monohydrated sulfate-containing deposits drape over the
knobs and also an outcrop in lower-elevation parts of the plateau.
CRISM is one of six science instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance
Orbiter. Led by The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,
Laurel, Md., the CRISM team includes expertise from universities,
government agencies and small businesses in the United States and abroad.
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and the
Mars Science Laboratory for NASA's Science Mission Directorate,
Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the orbiter.