ESA - Space Science - 28 June 2010
When Mars Express set sail for the crater named after Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, it found a windblown plateau and mysterious rocky mounds nearby.
Stretching across 190 x 112 km, this region of Mars covers an area of about 21 280 sq km, which is roughly the size of Slovenia. It is located to the southwest of the volcanic region Tharsis on the southern highlands of Mars, near the crater Magellan.
Named after the famous Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the impact crater is about 100 km across. Only a small portion of the crater rim is visible in this image, sitting at the lower right, because the Mars Express High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has zeroed in on some intriguing features nearby.
...Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)
- shows light-coloured, irregular protrusions.
- highlights linear features that lead to deep valleys.
- contains a plateau that may have been eroded smooth by dusty winds.
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