This picture from ESA’s Mars Specific reveals Aganippe Fossa, an interesting groove on the foot of Mars’s colossal Arsia Mons volcano. Credit score: ESA/DLR/FU BerlinA fascinating function takes heart stage on this new picture from ESA’s Mars Specific: a darkish, uneven scar slicing by way of marbled floor on the foot of a large volcano.This scar, often called Aganippe Fossa, is a patchy, roughly 600-km-long function often called a ‘graben’: a ditch-like groove with steep partitions on both facet.Aganippe Fossa cuts throughout the decrease flank of one in every of Mars’s largest volcanoes, Arsia Mons. Mars Specific frequently observes Arsia Mons and its close by companions within the area of Tharsis, the place a number of of Mars’s behemoth volcanoes are discovered. This consists of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano within the Photo voltaic System (seen within the context map related to this new picture, as is Arsia Mons).Arsia Mons itself measures 435 km in diameter and rises greater than 9 km above the encompassing plains. For context, the very best dormant volcano on Earth, Ojos del Salado on the Argentina-Chile border, tops out at underneath 7 km.This picture reveals Aganippe Fossa, a snaking groove discovered on the foot of Mars’s large Arsia Mons volcano, in a wider context. The realm outlined by the bigger white field signifies the world imaged by the Excessive Decision Stereo Digicam aboard ESA’s Mars Specific orbiter on December 13, 2023, throughout orbit 25189, whereas the smaller white field reveals the a part of the floor featured in these new photographs. Credit score: NASA/MGS/MOLA Science TeamSeeping LavaWe’re nonetheless uncertain of how and when Aganippe Fossa got here to be, but it surely appears probably that it was shaped as magma rising beneath the colossal mass of the Tharsis volcanoes induced Mars’s crust to stretch and crack.On this view, Mars Specific’s Excessive Decision Stereo Digicam (HRSC) captures two completely different sorts of terrain: so-called hummocky terrain, which contains many irregularly formed mounds and valleys all clustered collectively, and lobate terrain, which is shaped of gently sloping cliffs and rocky particles.This color-coded topographic picture reveals Aganippe Fossa, a snaking groove discovered on the foot of Mars’s large Arsia Mons volcano. It was created from knowledge collected by ESA’s Mars Specific on December 13, 2023, and is predicated on a digital terrain mannequin of the area, from which the topography of the panorama could be derived. Decrease altitude elements of the floor are proven in blues and purples, whereas increased altitude areas present up in whites and reds, as indicated on the size to the highest proper. Credit score: ESA/DLR/FU BerlinThese terrains are attribute of Arsia Mons’s ring-shaped ‘aureole’, a 100,000-square-kilometer disc across the base of the volcano, probably related to historical glaciers. Intriguingly, this aureole has solely constructed up on the northwestern flank of the volcano, probably as a result of prevailing winds from the other way controlling the place ice settled over time.Windblown mud and sand have additionally formed this patch of Mars, creating fascinating zebra-like patterns to the suitable of the body as darker materials is deposited on lighter floor (or vice versa!). The floor right here additionally reveals proof of lava flows, relationship from when the volcano was energetic.This stereoscopic picture reveals Aganippe Fossa, a snaking groove discovered on the foot of Mars’s large Arsia Mons volcano. The anaglyph provides a three-dimensional view when considered utilizing red-green or red-blue glasses. Credit score: ESA/DLR/FU BerlinExploring MarsMars Specific has been orbiting the Purple Planet since 2003. It’s imaging Mars’s floor, mapping its minerals, figuring out the composition and circulation of its tenuous ambiance, probing beneath its crust, and exploring how varied phenomena work together within the Martian surroundings.The spacecraft’s HRSC, accountable for these photographs, has revealed a lot about Mars’s numerous floor prior to now 20 years. Its photographs present all the pieces from wind-sculpted ridges and grooves to sinkholes on the flanks of colossal volcanoes to affect craters, tectonic faults, river channels, and historical lava swimming pools. The mission has been immensely productive over its lifetime, making a far fuller and extra correct understanding of our planetary neighbor than ever earlier than.The Excessive Decision Stereo Digicam (HRSC) on the Mars Specific spacecraft is a classy imaging system designed to check Mars in excessive element. Launched by the European House Company (ESA) in 2003, the HRSC captures high-resolution, three-dimensional photographs of the Martian floor, enabling scientists to look at the planet’s topography and morphology in unprecedented element. This digital camera system makes use of stereo imaging strategies to provide coloration photographs together with topographic maps, serving to researchers analyze the geology, composition, and bodily processes of Mars. The HRSC has been instrumental in offering insights into the planet’s previous water exercise, volcanic exercise, and different dynamic processes.