This image from CaSSIS aboard the ExoMars TGO reveals an impact crater on Mars that looks like a tree stump. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a joint objective by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russias area agency Roscosmos, research studies Mars from above, circling around the world and collecting information about its sporadic atmosphere. Researchers believe that these functions are the result of altering temperatures and seasons, causing the product in the crater to broaden and contract with the heat and cold.TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 as part of ESAs ExoMars missions to study the planet from its orbit and its surface.
This image from CaSSIS aboard the ExoMars TGO reveals an effect crater on Mars that appears like a tree stump. (Image credit: ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)A Mars probe has actually snapped a peculiar picture of the Red Planets surface that looks like a huge tree stump, rings and all. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russias space firm Roscosmos, studies Mars from above, circling the planet and gathering information about its sporadic environment. This orbital vantage point also allows TGO to see Mars from above, snapping images with its Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) cam. In a newly exposed image the orbiter snapped on June 13, 2021 in the northern plains of Acidalia Planitia, a strange surface area function is turning heads. From above, it appears like a huge tree stump, with concentric rings marking its years of age. Its not an alien tree stump, but rather an ice-rich impact crater.(Acidalia Planitia also takes place to be the landing website for the human Mars objective depicted in the sci-fi novel and movie “The Martian.”) Related: Largest canyon in the planetary system revealed in stunning brand-new images Photos: Europes ExoMars Missions to Mars in PicturesWhile the craters rings dont spell its age, the patterns within the crater can assist scientists to better comprehend what makes up its structure and what has occurred on Mars throughout its history. One thing scientists think they can tell so far about the crater is that it is chock-full of deposits abundant in water ice; deposits that were laid much previously in the worlds history, according to a statement from ESA. They believe that these deposits in the effect crater settled there when they did since of how the planets tilt, or spin axis, has actually changed in time. A planets tilt, as we see on Earth, cause seasonal changes, and Mars tilt has altered rather considerably over time compared to Earths tilt.During this earlier time on Mars, the planets tilt, or spin axis, would have permitted water-ice deposits to form at lower latitudes than would be possible today, according to the declaration. The craters “rings” and noticeable fractures are likely due to environmental changes over time. Researchers believe that these features are the result of changing temperature levels and seasons, triggering the material in the crater to contract and expand with the heat and cold.TGO arrived at Mars in 2016 as part of ESAs ExoMars objectives to study the world from its orbit and its surface area. The mission continues to deliver images like this in addition to data concerning Mars environment, geology, surface, history and more. Email Chelsea Gohd at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.