Planetary Geologists

JMARS gives planetary geologists a tool to access and analyze all of the spacecraft data returned from Mars. JMARS was originally develop to allow the THEMIS science team to perform basic analysis on THEMIS images after they were received and to plan future observations. However, it has grown to include many additional Mara datasets and now allows scientists around the world to easily access this data to support their research.

Planetary Research

Planetary scientists use JMARS to combine visible and infrared images, topography, and mineral maps to study the geologic processes and history of Mars, map future landing sites, search for surface changes, and monitor the seasonal changes on the polar caps.

Submitting Regions of Interest

All members of the THEMIS science team have access to the Region of Interest (ROI) Layer, which allows them to designate areas of Mars as scientifically important. These designations help the mission planners to determine how to use THEMIS to collect as much useful scientific data as possible. These regions do not act as specific imagery requests, but as suggestions for the mission planners.

Locating Observation Opporunities

If a planetary geologists on the THEMIS science team needs observations of a specific location on Mars, possibly at a specific time, they can use the Groundtrack Layer to determine when THEMIS will be able to observe the location. They can then pass this information along to the mission planners, which helps them to ensure that they observe the correct region of Mars at the correct time.

Determing Regional Coverage

When our planetary geologists are studying a specific region of Mars, it is often necessary to collect complete coverage of the area using THEMIS. JMARS allows the geologists to identify which parts of a region have or have not been covered and, as described above, request that the mission planners take observations to fill the necessary gaps.