Mars in 3D: Stunning images reveal red planet's 'Grand Canyon' in unprecedented detail - and provide clues to its volcanic beginnings

• Hebes Chasma is a 196-mile scar that sits close to the Martian equator
• Origin is associated with tectonic shifts from the volcanic Tharsis Region
• The debris that fills the canyon floor shows that enormous landslides also played a key role in shaping

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

Stunning new images of Mars' ‘Grand Canyon’ have been captured in 3D by the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Mars Express.
The deep valley, named Hebes Chasma, is a strange 196-mile (315km) scar that sits almost right in the middle of the Martian equator on the northern edge of the Valles Marineris canyon.
It is an enclosed, almost 8 km-deep trough stretching 315 km in an east–west direction and 125 km from north to south at its widest point.
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The deep valley, named Hebes Chasma, is a strange 196-mile (315km) scar that sits almost right in the middle of the Martian equator on the northern edge of the Valles Marineris canyon. Numerous grooves are etched into the mountain, suggesting the material is weak and easily eroded

Scientists hope that Hebes Chasma and its neighbouring network of canyons could provide new insights into Mars’ ancient geological upheaval.
Esa’s Mars Express has flown over this region of Mars on numerous occasions, but this new eight-image mosaic reveals Hebes Chasma in full and in greater detail than ever before.

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By imaging the landscape at three different wavelengths, the space agency has provides an insight into how the canyon will look from various angles.
Ripped apart by tectonic forces, the origin of Hebes Chasma and neighbouring canyons is associated with the nearby volcanic Tharsis Region, a huge region on Mars formed during its ancient volcanic history.

A horseshoe-shaped chunk has been taken out of one side of the mound (left in this image); the material has slumped down onto the floor of the valley below. A dark patch appears to pool like spilt ink across the debris. It is most likely loose material that has slid down the walls from an intermediate layer

The mosaic of Hebes Chasma is composed of eight single images taken with the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Mars Express (left). Scientists hope that Hebes Chasma and its neighbouring network of canyons could provide new insights into Mars' ancient geological upheaval. A colour-coded topography map (right) shows the relative heights and depths of features in and around the Hebes Chasma. White and red show the highest terrains, while blue and purple show the deepest

As the Tharsis bulge swelled with magma during the planet’s first billion years, the surrounding crust was stretched, eventually ripping apart and collapsing into massive troughs.
One of these was Hebes Chasma, and the complex fault patterns can be seen all around the deep depression and are especially evident in the main colour and 3D images.
At the centre of Hebes Chasma is a flat-topped ‘mesa’- an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides.
No other canyon on Mars has a similar feature and its origin is not entirely clear.
Its layers include volcanic materials but also wind-blow dust and lake sediments that were laid down over time.

By imaging the landscape at three different wavelengths, the space agency has provides an insight into how the canyon will look from various angles. Ripped apart by tectonic forces, the origin of Hebes Chasma and neighbouring canyons is associated with the nearby volcanic Tharsis Region

A horseshoe-shaped chunk has been taken out of one side of the mesa where material has slumped down onto the valley floor below.
A similar feature is visible at the opposite end of the mound, as seen in the full-colour image.
Other landslide deposits are seen all over the floor of Hebes Chasma, many coming from the main canyon walls.
The canyon walls and the mesa feature a number of grooves, suggesting the material is weak and easily eroded.
In another image, a band of darker material is seen between two layers of light material.

 

Fly-through of the Hebes Chasma on Mars

The Hebes Chasma is located at about 1°S / 284°E, and 300 km north of Valles. Its layers include volcanic materials but also wind-blow dust and lake sediments that were laid down over time

One idea is that the material was blown or slid from the top of the mound and collected on the slopes below.
Dark material is also seen around the base of the mesa, which either eroded away from the younger sediment layers located higher up in the mesa, or were deposited separately by wind or water.
Other layers revealed in the sides of the mesa may also have been deposited by water.
Data from both Mars Express and Nasa’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal that some parts of Hebes Chasma are laced with minerals that can form only in the presence of water, suggesting that at some point in the Red Planet’s history the canyon might have been filled with a lake.
According to Esa, however, the chaotic debris that fills the canyon floor shows that enormous landslides also played a key role in shaping and widening this deep scar since its formation.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2458541/Mars-3D-Images-reveal-red-planets-Grand-Canyon-detail.html#ixzz2hk2x5xMz
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