The Mars Student Imaging Project (MSIP, sometimes called Mars Student Imaging Program) is a collaboration between

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

's Mars Education Program that gives United States grade school students the opportunity to participate in Mars research. Students from grade five through college sophomore level work with

THEMIS In Greek mythology and religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titan children of Gaia and Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the goddess and personification of justice, divine order, fa ...

scientists at ASU's

Mars Space Flight Facility The Mars Space Flight Facility is located at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. The facility is a research center in Arizona State University's School for Earth and Space Exploration. Scientists, researchers, and students there specializ ...

to take images of sites on Mars using the visible wavelength camera on the

Mars Odyssey ''2001 Mars Odyssey'' is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectr ...

spacecraft. After students frame a research question, they help direct the Mars Odyssey to take images that will answer their question. In June, 2010, seventh grade science students at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, California helped researchers discover a new series of

lava tube A lava tube, or pyroduct, is a natural conduit formed by flowing lava from a volcanic vent that moves beneath the hardened surface of a lava flow. If lava in the tube empties, it will leave a cave. Formation A lava tube is a type of lava ...

s, including one with a

pit crater A pit crater (also called a subsidence crater or collapse crater) is a depression formed by a sinking or collapse of the surface lying above a void or empty chamber, rather than by the eruption of a volcano or lava vent. Pit craters are foun ...

. The students were looking for the most common sites for lava tubes on Mars, asking whether they are more prevalent near the volcano's summit, its flanks, or in the plains surrounding the volcano. The pit crater they discovered is in the form of a skylight above a lava tube, on the slope of the

Pavonis Mons Pavonis Mons (Latin for "peacock mountain") is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as the Tharsis Montes) that straddle the M ...

volcano. The pit crater is only the second one discovered on Pavonis Mons, and is estimated to be approximately wide and deep.

References

External links

Official website
{{Use American English, date=January 2014 Arizona State University NASA 2001 Mars Odyssey