Discoveries

An impact crater on Mars has a floor filled with huge blocks of chaotic terrain. THEMIS found the crater contains a thick stack of sediments deposited underwater.

Water from melting snow eroded many of the geologically recent gullies on Mars — and snowpacks still linger on many poleward-facing slopes in the middle latitudes.

THEMIS images have provided the first direct observations of exposed water ice at the southern polar cap of Mars.

Scientists use THEMIS data to discover that sand-spewing gas jets are the cause of mysterious dark markings that appear every spring on the Martian south polar cap.

Mission scientists picked Meridiani Planum as a landing site for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity because data from THEMIS and TES showed signs of abundant water in the region’s rocks and surface materials.