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Mars Odyssey Captures First Horizon Panorama of Arsia Mons

Scientists rotated the orbiter’s THEMIS camera to capture Arsia Mons poking through seasonal water ice clouds, shedding light on Martian atmospheric evolution.

NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter captured the first horizon view of Arsia Mons, an enormous volcano on the Red Planet.

Overview

  • On May 2, 2025, NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter recorded Arsia Mons rising above a dense canopy of water ice clouds in the first-ever horizon view of a Martian volcano.
  • The spacecraft was deliberately turned 90 degrees in orbit to aim its Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) at the horizon, expanding its role beyond surface mapping.
  • The panorama highlights the aphelion cloud belt that forms when winds drive moisture up the volcano’s slopes during Mars’ farthest point from the Sun, cooling into seasonal ice layers.
  • Planetary scientists say these side-view images reveal atmospheric dynamics that improve dust storm forecasts and guide entry, descent and landing operations for future missions.
  • Since arriving at Mars in 2001, Odyssey has used visible and infrared imaging to study the planet’s atmosphere, surface features and subsurface ice, making it the longest-running mission at another world.