This image from ESAs Mars Express shows the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars.This image comprises data gathered by Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on January 15, 2023, throughout orbit 24045. It is a real color image, showing what would be seen by the human eye if looking at this area of Mars. Ascraeus Mons is the northernmost and highest of 3 prominent volcanoes found in the Tharsis area of Mars, a volcanic plateau in Mars western hemisphere. The location laid out by the larger white box suggests the location imaged by ESAs Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera on January 15, 2023, throughout orbit 24045. The smaller inset white box shows the specific area highlighted by the brand-new images from Mars Express.
This image from ESAs Mars Express reveals the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars.This image comprises data gathered by Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on January 15, 2023, throughout orbit 24045. It is a true color image, showing what would be seen by the human eye if looking at this area of Mars.
ESAs Mars Express has captured in-depth images of Mars second-tallest volcano, Ascraeus Mons, exposing features such as lava circulations, tubes, chains of craters, and big cracks produced by a combination of lava, ash, and water flows, and the existence of subsurface spaces.
Mars has a few of the most outstanding volcanoes in the Solar System. ESAs Mars Express has actually now imaged the pitted, fissured flank of the planets second-tallest: Ascraeus Mons.
This image makes up observations from Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC).
Ascraeus Mons is the northernmost and highest of 3 prominent volcanoes found in the Tharsis area of Mars, a volcanic plateau in Mars western hemisphere. It determines a towering 18 km (11 miles) in height but its slopes are mild, with an average slope of 7 degrees. This slow climb is reflected in the volcanos substantial base size of 480 km (300 miles), giving it a footprint roughly the size of Romania on Earth.
This color-coded topographic image shows the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars. It is based on a digital surface model of the region, from which the topography of the landscape can be obtained. Lower parts of the surface are revealed in blues and purples, while greater altitude regions reveal up in whites and reds, as suggested on the scale to the top. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Ascraeus Mons is gone beyond in height only by Olympus Mons, the highest volcano not just on Mars but in the whole Solar System.
Like ink into water
The image shows the lower southern flank of Ascraeus Mons. There is a significant difference in elevation from one side to the other, with the left (southern) side of the frame sitting about 10 km lower than the right (northern) side. The volcanos peak is found to the right (north) of the frame, as seen most clearly in the larger context map of the area.
The area described by the larger white box shows the area imaged by ESAs Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera on January 15, 2023, throughout orbit 24045. The smaller sized inset white box reveals the specific area highlighted by the new images from Mars Express.
Lots of similarly dramatic functions– jointly called Ascraeus Chasmata, incorporating a massive patch of collapsed terrain over 70 km (44 miles) throughout– are noticeable across the frame: lava flows and tubes, chains of craters, channel-like rilles, and big cracks covering 10s of km in length.
All of different age and origin, these features knit together to form a scene looking like routes of ink distributing artfully in water, or a plants wonderfully complex root system as it digs into soil.
This annotated image from ESAs Mars Express shows the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars. It is a real color image, reflecting what would be seen by the human eye if looking at this area of Mars.
Lurking below ground.
This crinkled ground then experiences chains of pit craters: functions where strings of circular or near-circular anxieties have actually integrated and coalesced to form troughs. The pit crater troughs and chains shown here have actually likewise organized together to form a distinctive and particularly big collapse area.
This oblique viewpoint view shows the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars. These are part of a group of functions jointly called Ascraeus Chasmata, which includes a huge spot of collapsed terrain over 70 km across.
These chains and troughs most likely kind where concealed spaces lie listed below the surface, triggering the ground to become unstable and collapse– a bit like a sinkhole. The subsurface spaces are believed to be created as the surface layer of a lava circulation rapidly cools and hardens; the lava flow below then ceases and lessens away in time, leaving tube-shaped pockets of area prowling several meters listed below ground..
The ground to the left of the pit crater chains is marked by so-called sinuous rilles: smaller, snaking channels without rims that are frequently discovered at the flanks of volcanoes. It is still uncertain how these form, but their creation might involve circulations of lava, ash, or water– or a combination of the three.
This oblique perspective view shows the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars. A number of weaving anxieties can be seen from this point of view; these are cracks and coalesced pit crater troughs, functions where strings of circular or near-circular depressions have actually combined and coalesced to form troughs. They belong to a group of features– consisting of lava circulations and channel-like rilles– jointly named Ascraeus Chasmata, which encompasses an enormous spot of collapsed surface over 70 km throughout. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.
The leftmost part of the image is dominated by large cracks of approximately 40 km (25 miles) long. Branching off from these fissures are channels that weave and intertwined together ( braided channels), separating portions of martian surface to form islands and balconies. These are likely to have formed by water– possibly as snow and ice developed up on the flanks of Ascraeus Mons before later melting away.
Checking out Mars.
Mars Express has actually been orbiting the Red Planet given that 2003, imaging Mars surface area, mapping its minerals, recognizing the structure and flow of its tenuous atmosphere, probing underneath its crust, and exploring how different phenomena connect in the martian environment.
This stereoscopic image shows the southern flanks of Ascraeus Mons, the second-tallest volcano on Mars. It was created from data captured by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESAs Mars Express orbiter on January 15, 2023, throughout orbit 24045.
The orbiters HRSC, accountable for these new images, has actually revealed much about Mars diverse surface functions, with images showing everything from the mighty Valles Marineris canyon system, deep fractures and water-carved valleys to effect craters, tectonic faults, river channels, and ancient lava pools. Lots of Mars Express images feature the Red Planets enormous volcanoes, of which Ascraeus Mons is a fascinating example.
The objectives High Resolution Stereo Camera ( HRSC) was developed and is run by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR).
