The massive Valles Marineris canyon has been revealed in stunning new images taken by the European Space Agency. Anthem To express.
At 2,485 miles long, 124 miles wide, and over 4 miles deep, the Red Planet’s canyon makes America look downright rickety in comparison. Valles Marineris would cover the distance from the northern tip of Norway to the southern tip of Sicily.
The new image shows two trenches, or cliffs, that form part of the western part of Valles Marineris. On the left is the 521-mile-long lus Chasma and on the right is the 500-mile-long Tithonium Chasma.
The image uses data from the High Definition Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard Mars Express and is a ‘true color’ image, which is what the human eye can see when looking at this region of Mars.
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This oblique perspective view of Tithonium Chasma (pictured above), which forms part of Mars’ Valles Marineris canyon structure, was created from the digital terrain model and rarity and color channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard the European Space Agency’s Mars Express.
The massive canyon of the Red Planet has appeared in new images released by ESA. The new image shows two trenches, or cliffs, that form part of the western part of Valles Marineris. On the left is the 521-mile-long Lus Chasma and on the right is the 500-mile-long Tithonium Chasma.
At 2,485 miles long, 124 miles wide, and more than 4 miles deep, the Red Planet’s canyon makes America’s Grand Canyon look downright puny in comparison.
This image of Tithonium Chasma shows parallel lines and piles of debris (top right) indicating a recent landslide.
The image above is an example of an oblique view of the giant Valles Marineris canyon system on Mars. Canyons were formed by a combination of geological faulting, landslides, and erosion caused by wind and ancient water flows.
In terms of elevation, Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps – rising over 15,000 feet above sea level – would be dwarfed if placed inside Tithonium Chasma.
Unlike the Grand Canyon in the Americas, which was formed as a result of the Colorado River eroding rocks about 5 million years ago, the Red Planet’s massive canyon is believed to have been formed by the drifting of tectonic plates.
At the top of Tithonium Chasma, a dark patch of sand that may have come from a nearby volcanic region brings color contrast to the image.
Next to the dark sand dunes are two light-toned mounds, one of which is bisected by the upper image border.
This photo taken by the Mars Express shows a perspective view of a mesa in regions east of Valles Marineris, the largest canyons in the Solar System.
The Red Planet’s massive Valles Marineris, which covers almost a quarter of the planet’s circumference, is seen above (centre) in this image from the Granger Collection.
Lus and Tithonium Chasmata seen above. The area framed by the thick white box shows the area imaged by the Mars Express High Definition Stereo Camera during orbit on April 21, 2022.
These mounds are actually gigantic, rising more than 9,800 feet in height. For perspective, Mount Hesperus in Alaska, the highest peak of the Revelation Mountains, rises 9,828 feet.
The surfaces of the mounds have been significantly eroded by the strong winds of Mars: typical wind speeds on the Red Planet average 125 miles per hour and winds reach 300-375 miles per hour.
A series of smaller mounds can be seen between the two large mounds.
According to the ESA, Mars Express had previously found water-bearing sulfate minerals in this region.
The space agency says this suggests it’s bumps formed by the evaporation of the liquid that once filled the abyss – but this point is disputed by scientists.
“Exactly on the lower right side of the mound we see (upper right in the second perspective view), we can see parallel lines and piles of rubble indicating a recent landslide,” says ESA. Declaration.
This evidence can also be seen in the topography image below.
“The landslide was caused by the collapse of the right canyon wall and probably occurred relatively recently because it has not been eroded strongly,” explains ESA.
The gnarled floor of ‘Ius Chasma’ is equally fascinating.
“As tectonic plates diverge, they seem to have caused the formation of jagged triangles of rock that look like a series of shark teeth.”
Over time, the rock formations have collapsed and eroded.
ESA’s Mars Express has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2003 to conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments, including imaging the surface of Mars, mapping its minerals, determining the composition and circulation of its atmosphere, and probing beneath its crust.
NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover discover The Red Planet is almost a year and a half. The American space agency wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.
founder Elon Musk, Space XHe has long said that humans must colonize Mars and become a multi-planetary species in order to preserve consciousness and expand it into the cosmos.
Image above: A color-coded topographic image created from data collected by ESA’s Mars Express, showing Ius and Tithonium Chasmata, which form part of Mars’ Valles Marineris canyon structure
The image above is a computer rendering of Valles Marineris canyon on the Red Planet, the largest canyon in the solar system.
