Olympus Mons Volcano on Mars
Explanation:
Scroll right to virtually climb the
largest volcano in the
Solar System.
Olympus Mons on
Mars
measures three times higher than
Earth's highest mountain,
and has a volume over fifty times greater than
Earth's
largest volcano.
The
caldera at the top is over 70 kilometers wide.
The low gravity and relatively static surface
crust on Mars allows structures as large as
Olympus Mons to form.
Surrounding the
volcano is a
cliff that ranges up to 10 kilometers high.
This black & white image is one of over
20,000 just-released
images taken by the robot spacecraft
Mars Global Surveyor that continues to orbit
Mars.
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.
