(ORDO NEWS) — The ESA Mars Express mission on April 5, 2022 took pictures of the Terra Sirenum region, which is located in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
On the left side of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) image, a large impact crater can be seen, which is about 70 km wide.
Inside the crater, you can see the imprint of the Martian wind – at the bottom of the crater are yardangs, which are visible signs of wind erosion.
Inside the large crater is a smaller crater, about 20 km wide. The structure and outline of this crater, as well as its smaller neighbor in the background, suggest that this surface was covered in water or ice when the impact occurred.
Traces of past glaciers are visible on the smooth surface of these craters. It is believed that the glaciers, which consisted of a mixture of rock fragments and ice, flowed down the slope. Their movement is evidenced by small wide channels at the base of the craters.
The meandering valley at the far left is up to 1.8 km wide. It is believed that this was the path for the water that melted in the basin to the east.
The right side of the image shows a complex area of ​​meandering dendritic valleys thought to be associated with rain or snow.
The surface of the Red Planet is marked by the dynamic movements of the Martian crust. Parallel to the large valley, about 10 km from it, in the lower left corner is a fault that cuts through the basin.
Faults are formed when the crust breaks under the action of tectonic stress and parts of the surface sink down.
Lava also left its marks on the surface. While the larger crater has traces of a glacier, there is a layer of lava at the bottom of the impact crater on the right side of the image.
And the grid of ridges located below and to the right was formed as a result of compression of the lava field by tectonic forces.
Many features of the relief, captured in one image, shed light not only on various physical processes, but also on the history of the Red Planet.
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