Colour plan view of a crater about 50 kilometres wide in Noachis Terra
Colour plan view of a crater about 50 kilometres wide in Noachis Terra
The HRSC camera system on board Mars Express captures simultaneous images of the surface of Mars in high resolution, in 3D and with four colour filters in visible light for the colours blue, green and red, as well as in the near-infrared wavelengths. This enhanced contrast true-colour representation, created from the nadir channel oriented vertically towards Mars and the colour channels, enables the material differences in the otherwise very monotonous surface of Mars to be clearly distinguished. Particularly striking is a small field of black dunes inside the crater, which are probably made of dust and sand from eroded volcanic rocks that the wind has transported to the interior of the crater.