Mars: A Canyon's Edge
Explanation:
High resolution Mars Global Surveyor images were combined with
Viking Orbiter color data to produce
this stunning, detailed view of
a Martian canyon's edge.
The area pictured is about 6 miles wide and represents a tiny part of
the northern edge of the canyon
Valles Marineris,
whose total length is about 2,500 miles.
Details 20 to 30 feet across
can be seen in the high resolution data.
The composition of the thin, well-defined
layers in the steep canyon walls
is unknown, but their presence
points to a complex and active Martian geologic history.
In the later half of the 1970s,
NASA's Viking Orbiters photographed
Mars extensively, yet Surveyor's
sharp new images
have produced
some striking and unanticipated results.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
