The European Space Agency (ESA) shared new photos of the Red Planet recorded with the Mars Express spacecraft. Recent images from the spacecraft show two fractures in the Martian crust that form part of the Valles Marineris canyon system, according to ESA.
Video comparison of Hubble and James Webb
New images from Valles Marineris
With a length of 4000 km, a width of 200 km and a depth of 7 km, Valles Marineris is approximately 10 times longer, 20 times wider and 5 times deeper than the Grand Canyon in the USA. In addition, Valles Marineris is the known grand canyon system of the Solar System.
The published image shows two cliffs that form part of the western Valles Marineris. On the left (south) is the 840 km long Ius Chasma and on the right (north) is the 805 km long Tithonium Chasma.
Sand is also seen on top of Tithonium Chasma, which is thought to have come from the nearby Tharsis volcanic region.
Launched in 2003, the Mars Express spacecraft has been imaging the surface of the Red Planet and mapping its minerals since then. The spacecraft is also investigating how various phenomena interact in the Martian environment.
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