The European Space Agency captured stunning images of the Grand Canyon of Mars, which is one of the many unexplored regions of the planet.
People have been wondering for decades if Mars can be a habitable planet for humans in the distant future, especially after water was detected on the red planet by space agencies. Though it is not yet known if Mars is a place where we can live, there is one similarity that it shares with the Earth – the Grand Canyon!
The European Space Agency (ESA) recently released photos of Mars’ very own Grand Canyon, and they are sure to leave you stunned! The mesmerizing photos of the Grand Canyon of Mars show vivid colours and beautiful plains of the red planet.
Have a look at the photos –
1. Grand Canyon of Mars
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The Hebes Chasma is an enclosed, almost 8000 m-deep trough in the most northern part of Valles Marineris, the 3000-km long “Grand Canyon of Mars”. It has been named so because of its resemblance to the Grand Canyon in the US. (Photo - ESA)
2. Look inside the Hebes Chasma
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The Grand Canyon of Mars or Hebes Chasma has water minerals present, with a vivid red valley. The steep flanks of the trough showed branched incisions and small veins of the rock. Below the flanks, run-off and material from larger landslides are visible. (Photo - ESA)
3. Mountains on Mars
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A flat-topped mountain is located in the centre of Hebes Chasma (3). It reaches 8000 m above the graben floor and rises to almost the same height as the plain surrounding the trough.
The mountain is made up of numerous rock layers stacked on top of each other, perhaps made out of remnants of an older plateau, sediments from a lake, wind-blown sediments, or volcanic rocks. The rock layers were exposed by erosion. (Photo - ESA)
4. Origins of Mars’ Grand Canyon
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The ESA said, “The origin of Hebes Chasma is thought to be connected to the nearby Tharsis Region, which was uplifted in the course of intense volcanism. The uplift created tremendous amounts of stress in the crust forming a series of faults oriented radially.” (Photo - ESA)
5. Water on Mars
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There has been evidence that water has been found on the Hebes Chasma or the Grand Canyon. Data acquired by the OMEGA spectrometer on-board Mars Express has revealed water-bearing minerals such as gypsum in some areas of Hebes Chasma. This is proof that at least significant quantities of water once existed in Hebes Chasma. (Photo - ESA)
