Sulci Gordii close-up
Sulci Gordii close-up
Realistic perspective views of the surface of Mars 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 oblique angle with respect to the planet's surface. This image focuses on a region on the western limb of Sulci Gordii (top centre-right on the colour plan view). Clearly in the foreground we can see the near-parallel characteristic of the ridges and valleys that define geological features called sulci. Close inspection of the ridges reveals dark streaks along their faces, evidence of numerous small landslides of rocky and dusty debris. Sulci Gordii is an aureole deposit resulting from the dramatic collapse of the flanks of Olympus Mons in its distant past. The image was created from data acquired by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft on 23 January 2013 (orbit 11,531), with a ground resolution of about 31 metres per pixel. Sulci Gordii lies at approximately 17 degrees north and 234 degrees east, about 200 kilometres east of Olympus Mons.
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.
