Washington - The Mars Odyssey space probe yesterday took its first-ever thermal pictures of Mars, NASA said, processing infrared temperature data to give a fuller picture of the planet's climate zones.
An imaging team at Arizona State University will process the data taken by one of three imaging instruments, part of the calibration process for the "thermal emission imaging system", the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement. The highly sophisticated measuring instruments will enable scientists to gather data on the possible presence of water in the Martian crust, to one metre below the surface.