Martian chaos terrain
Videos
The planet Mars has distinctive areas of chaos terrain, a topography unlike any on Earth. Chaos terrain generally consists of irregular groups of large blocks, some reaching tens of kilometers across
These drawings show stages in the formation of Aram chaos and probably many other chaotic terrains according to a model advanced by Zegers et al. 2010. Click on images to see more details.
Enlargement of area in rectangle of the previous image. On Earth the ridge would be called the terminal moraine of an alpine glacier. Picture taken with HiRISE under the HiWish program. Image from Ismenius Lacus quadrangle.
Crater that was buried in another age and is now being exposed by erosion, as seen by the Mars Global Surveyor. This is evidence that there may be many buried craters in the subsurface of Mars.
This series of drawings show another model for the formation of Martian chaos, as proposed by Pedersen and Head 2011 Amount of sublimation is exaggerated to improve understanding. Click on image to see more details.
Ares Vallis
Videos
Ares Vallis is an outflow channel on Mars, named after the Greek name for Mars: Ares, the god of war; it appears to have been carved by fluids, perhaps water. The valley 'flows' northwest out of the h
Mars Pathfinder (at 19.13 N, 33.22 W) photographed the region where Ares Vallis borders Chryse
Sojourner on Mars PIA01122