Channels and fractures in Sulci Gordii
Channels and fractures in Sulci Gordii
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 the southernmost portion of Sulci Gordii, which highlights jagged fractures and fault lines, as well as some sinuous channels that were likely created by short-lived volcanic activity and subsequently widened by water flows. In the foreground to the left, a channel that is abruptly truncated by a tectonic fault can be seen. Another channel in the centre foreground has also clearly undergone a complex fracturing history. To the upper right, a few rocky blocks appear like islands in a sea of ancient lava plains; the 'shoreline' at the top of the image is part of the ridge and valley system of Sulci Gordii. 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.