The vast Valles Marineris valley has been revealed in stunning new images taken by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express.
The Valley of the Red Planet is 2,485 miles long, over 124 miles wide and over 4 miles deep, making America look pretty pale in comparison. Vallis Marineris extends from the northern tip of Norway to the southern tip of Sicily.
The new image depicts two moats or chasms that form part of the western Valles Marineris. On the left is the lus Chasma, which is 521 miles long, and on the right is the Tithonium Chasma, which is 500 miles long.
The image uses data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express and is a “true color” image, meaning what the human eye would see if looking at this region of Mars.
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An oblique perspective image of Tithonium Chasma (pictured above), which is part of the valley structure of Mars Valles Marineris, was created from the digital terrain model, analog and color channels of the high-resolution stereo camera on board the European Space Agency’s Mars Express. .
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A vast valley on the Red Planet has been revealed in new images released by the European Space Agency. The new image depicts two moats or chasms that form part of the western Valles Marineris. On the left is the Lus Chasma, which is 521 miles long, and on the right is the Tithonium Chasma, which is 500 miles long
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The canyon on the Red Planet is 2,485 miles long, over 124 miles wide and over 4 miles deep, making America’s Grand Canyon look puny in comparison.
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This image of Tethonium Chasma shows parallel lines and debris piles (top right), suggesting a recent landslide.
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The image above shows an oblique view of the giant Valles Marineris Valley system on Mars. The canyons were formed by a combination of geological faults, landslides, wind erosion and ancient watercourses.
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In terms of height, the highest mountain in the Alps, Mont Blanc, which rises more than 15,000 feet above sea level, would be dwarfed if inside the Tithonium Chasma.
Unlike America’s Grand Canyon, which was formed about 5 million years ago when the Colorado River eroded, the Red Planet’s Grand Canyon is believed to have been formed by the erosion of tectonic plates.
A dark patch of sand at the top of Tithonium Chasma – which may have come from a nearby volcanic area – adds color contrast to the image.
Next to the dark sand dunes are two light-colored hills, one of which is split in half by the upper frame.
This image by Mars Express shows a perspective view of Mesa east of the Valles Marineris, the largest canyons in the Solar System.
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The Red Planet’s vast Valles Marineris—which spans roughly a quarter of the planet’s circumference—is visible above (center) in the Granger Group image.
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Lus and Tithonium Chasmata are shown above. The area outlined in the dark white field represents the area recorded by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera on April 21, 2022 while in orbit.
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Mars: the basics
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, a cold, dusty desert world that is nearly dead with a very thin atmosphere.
Mars is also a dynamic planet with seasons, polar ice caps, canyons and extinct volcanoes, proving it was more active in the past.
It is one of the most explored planets in the Solar System and the only planet humans have sent rovers to explore.
A day on Mars is just over 24 hours, and a year is 687 Earth days.
facts and figures
orbital: 687 nap
surface area: 144.8 million square kilometers
distance from the sun: 227.9 million km
gravity: 3,721 m/s²
beam: 3389,5 km
moons: Phobos, Deimos
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These hills are actually gigantic with an elevation of over 9,800 feet. For perspective, Alaska’s Mount Hesperus, the highest peak in the Revelation Mountains, is 9,828 feet tall.
The surface of the hills has been greatly eroded by strong Martian winds: typical average wind speeds on the Red Planet are 125 mph, and gusts can reach 300 to 375 mph.
A series of small outcrops can be seen between the large hills.
According to the European Space Agency, Mars Express has previously found hydrous sulfate minerals in this area.
According to the space agency, this suggests that the bulges formed when the liquid that once filled the crack evaporated – but this point has been disputed by scientists.
It is reported by ESA statement.
This trace can also be seen in the topographic image below.
The ESA explains that “the landslide was caused by the collapse of the valley wall on the right side, and it probably happened relatively recently because it was not strongly eroded”.
“The evil soil of Ius Chasma is equally remarkable.
“When the tectonic plates separated, jagged rock triangles that look like shark teeth appear to have formed.”
Over time, the rock formations collapsed and eroded.
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express rover has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2003 to conduct a wide range of scientific experiments, including imaging the Martian surface, mapping its minerals, determining the composition and circulation of its atmosphere, and exploring the subsurface.
It was also NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover discovery The Red Planet for about a year and a half. The US space agency wants to send people to Mars in the 2030s.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has long said that humans must colonize Mars and become a multiplanetary species in order to maintain and expand consciousness in the universe.
Above: A color-coded topographic image showing Ius and Tithonium Chasmata, part of the Valles Marineris Canyon structure on Mars, from data collected by ESA’s Mars Express.
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Pictured above is a computer rendering of the Valles Marineris Valley on the Red Planet, the largest valley in the Solar System
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