The Thermal Visor is a visor that allows Samus to locate enemies and objects by their heat signatures. It can be used to see through the Space Pirates' advanced cloaking technology and locate power conduits to open de-energized doors. It is useful for exploring dark places and areas with poor weather conditions.
The Thermal Visor is crucial in defeating many enemies, most notably Thardus, whose weak point can only be seen with the Thermal Visor. It is the only visor in the game that does not appear in any of the future games, although several of its aspects carried over to the Dark Visor in Echoes and the X-Ray Visor in Corruption. The Thermal Visor is acquired in the Research Core in Phendrana Drifts.