Craters young and old in Sirenum Fossae



 
Part of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. It extends some 230 km by 127 km and covers 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. The image was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft during orbit 6547. The image resolution is about 29 metres per pixel.


 
Part of the Sirenum Fossae region captured by HRSC on Mars Express orbit 6547. The map shows that the imaged region is centred at about 28°S / 185°E. Sirenum Fossae, as a whole, extends for more than 2500 km southwest of the Tharsis volcanic region. The image captures an area to the north of the Magelhaens Crater.


 
Perspective view of Sirenum Fossae in the Southern Highlands of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. It extends about 230 km by 127 km and covers 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. The largest impact crater here is around 50 km in diameter, and indicates that this region is ancient because such large craters rarely form in more recent times.


 
Perspective view of Sirenum Fossae’s central plateau in the Southern Highlands of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. It extends about 230 km by 127 km and covers 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. The central plateau is fringed by cliffs and valleys, running across the far side of the crater on the left side of the image.


 
There are three notable features in this image of the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. The largest impact crater in box 1 is around 50 km in diameter, and indicates that this region is ancient because such large craters rarely formed in more recent times. There is a large valley system in box two, and two parallel lines to the left-hand side of the box. These form a graben.

The central impact crater in box 3 has a diameter of about 28 km, and is relatively young because its centre remains jagged rather than having been smoothed by erosion. The youngest crater is the small 9 km-diameter crater. The crater at the bottom of the box is 34 km across, and the largest crater in the box, at 56 km diameter, is the oldest and most eroded.


 
This image shows three craters superimposed on one another in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars, at approximately 28° S / 185° E. The oldest is the furthest from view, an eroded crater 34 km in diameter. The central crater is about 28 km across, and has yet to be smoothed by erosion. The youngest crater is the small 9 km-diameter crater on its rim.


 
Elevation of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. It extends about 230 km by 127 km and covers 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium.
In the central part of the region is a plateau showing evidence of intense erosion. This image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM is colour-coded: purple indicates the low-lying regions and beige the highest elevations. The scale is in metres.


 
Part of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. It extends about 230 km by 127 km and covers 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. The image was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft during orbit 6547. The image resolution is about 29 metres per pixel and is derived from the HRSC nadir channel, which provides the highest detail of all channels.


 
Part of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands of Mars, presented in 3D. The image shows the region centred at about 28°S / 185°E. It extends about 230 km by 127 km and covers 29 450 sq km, roughly the size of Belgium. The image was taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft during orbit 6547. The image resolution is about 29 metres per pixel. This 3D image was derived by combining data from the nadir channel and one stereo channel of HRSC. Stereoscopic glasses are required to see the 3D effect.



Release date: 3 February 2010