ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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The surface of a giant impact crater on Mars that looks like a tree stump.
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Nationalgeographic.co.id—Researchers on Earth have discovered a crater giant on the planet Mars thanks to the help of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). This orbiter is part of the ExoMars, a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos to study Mars from above.
The TGO is tasked with circling the planet, and gathering data about its sparse atmosphere from its orbit. This orbital vantage point also allows TGO to view Mars from above, capturing images with the Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) camera.
In newly revealed images, the orbiter captures a strange circular surface feature. This image was taken on June 13, 2021 in the northern plains of Acidalia Planitia, Red Planet the.
From above, the alien surface looks like a giant tree stump, with concentric rings that mark its age. However, it was not an alien tree stump, but rather an ice-rich impact crater.
While the crater rings don’t show their age, the patterns within the crater could help researchers better understand what made up its structure and what has happened on Mars throughout its history.
One thing scientists think they can tell so far about the crater is that it is full of water-ice-rich deposits. This is a type of deposit that formed much earlier in the planet’s history, according to a statement from the ESA.
Researchers think the deposits in these impact craters settled there because the planet’s tilt or axis of rotation has changed over time. The tilt of the planets, as we see them on Earth, causes seasonal changes, and the tilt of Mars has changed quite dramatically over time compared to the tilt of Earth.
During earlier times on Mars, the planet’s tilt or rotational axis would have allowed water ice deposits to form at lower latitudes than is possible today, the researchers said in a statement. Live Science.
In fact, the visible crater “rings” and cracks are most likely caused by changes in the planet’s environment over time. The researchers think that these features are the result of changing seasons and temperature, which causes material in the crater to expand and contract with heat and cold.
TGO arrived on Mars in 2016 as part of ESA’s ExoMars mission to study the planet from its orbit and surface. The mission continues to provide images like these as well as data on the Martian atmosphere, geology, surface, history and more.
Also Read: Beautiful Scenery on Planet Mars: Frozen Crater to Giant Volcano
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