Regional context of the Angustus Labyrinthus region
Regional context of the Angustus Labyrinthus region
The image strip photographed by DLR's HRSC on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft on 27 February 2024 during orbit 25,449 covers an area almost 800 kilometres wide between 73 and 87 degrees south latitude near the south pole of Mars. In winter, this area is covered by the ice cap, which expands seasonally to the north. The image strip also contains the structure Angustus Labyrinthus, informally referred to by scientists as the 'Inca city'. The 200-kilometre-diameter Schmidt crater at 72 degrees south latitude is named firstly after the Soviet scientist and statesman Otto Julius Schmidt (1891-1956), and secondly after the German astronomer and geophysicist and long-time director of the National Observatory of Athens, Johann Friedrich Julius Schmidt (1825-1884). Schmidt's diligence was legendary: according to his own statements, he mapped 32,856 craters on the moon single-handedly.
