Where on Mars is Shalbatana Vallis?

This image shows part of Shalbatana Vallis, a large channel near Mars’s equator, in wider context.

A large dotted square highlights the area of Mars featured in new images from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard ESA’s Mars Express, released in May 2026. The two smaller boxes within mark the precise patch of surface shown in the images, captured by Mars Express on 22 October 2024 (orbit 26265). The elevation of the surface, shown by the bright colours marking the surface of Mars, is indicated by the scale to the bottom-right.

Read more

[Image description: A full globe of Mars shown against a black background, coloured in blues, greens, yellows, and reds to show surface variation. Thin white outlines and boxes mark specific locations on the surface, giving the image a mapped, diagram-like appearance.]