Odyssey Captures First Horizon Image of Arsia Mons

NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter has captured the first image of Arsia Mons, a 12-mile-high volcano, rising above early morning water ice clouds at dawn on the Martian horizon—a first for any of the Tharsis Montes volcanoes. The panorama provides an astronaut-like perspective, akin to viewing Earth's horizon from space. Odyssey achieved this by rotating 90 degrees in orbit, inaugurating a new imaging technique now shifting the spacecraft’s focus to atmospheric science. Arsia Mons, nearly twice as tall as Hawaii's Mauna Loa, is often enveloped in clouds during Mars' aphelion season. The new images help scientists observe seasonal changes in the planet’s atmospheric dust and water ice layers, deepening understanding of Martian weather and climate. The long-running Odyssey mission continues to yield discoveries about Mars’ volcanic history and dynamic climate.