Perspective view from the southeast to the northwest over Acidalia Planitia
Perspective view from the southeast to the northwest over Acidalia Planitia
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 board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, which are oriented at an angle with respect to the planet's surface.
The image shows a view from the southeast over the plain of Acidalia Planitia to the northwest towards the Martian highland of Tempe Terra. In the foreground and in the centre at the upper edge of the image, four craters with obvious, sharp rims can be seen; they were presumably formed when water activity in this region had ceased, as no sediment has been deposited in their interiors. A larger, older crater to the upper left of the centre of the image is different; its interior has been almost completely filled with sediment, transported there by rivers during the early period of Mars' history.
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.