Explanation:
This dramatic perspective view
looks south-east along the wall of
a large eroded impact crater on
Solis Planum, bordering the mountainous
Thaumasia region of Mars.
Stretching for about 50 kilometers into the scene, the crater wall
is around 800 meters high.
Located just south and west of the Red Planet's grand
Valles Marineris, this area features
mountains
and fault lines that are seen as evidence of
surface plate motions or plate tectonics.
The process of
plate tectonics has long been shaping the surface
of planet Earth but is thought to have been only briefly active
on Mars.
The image was constructed using color image data from the
High Resolution Stereo Camera onboard ESA's
Mars Expressspacecraft.
