Perspective view from the northwest of a 'river island' in Ares Vallis
Perspective view from the northwest of a 'river island' in Ares Vallis
Realistic perspective views of the Martian surface can be generated from data acquired by the stereo and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, which are oriented at an angle with respect to the planet’s surface. This image shows an oblique perspective view from northwest to southeast of an ‘island’ in the mouth of Ares Vallis, a large outflow channel that ends near the equator, on the lowlands of Chryse Planitia. The water that once flowed through Ares Vallis did not erode all the obstacles in its path; isolated ‘islands’ were left behind. The terrace-like levels at varying elevations are indicative of erosion in a watercourse.
Copyright note:
As a joint undertaking by DLR, ESA and FU Berlin, the Mars Express HRSC images are published under a Creative Commons licence since December 2014: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. This licence will also apply to all HRSC images released to date.
