Rakes of water and lava on the red planet
The European Mars Express spacecraft has obtained some new images of Tiu Valleys (one of the most interesting regions in the red planet due to its watery past) which shows several mysterious ridges, next to what seems to be the place where a system of creeks or channels ended.
Although the scientists have not still determined completely the origin of these stranger structures, composed by arrays of mounds that twist on the valley, it seems they arose several millions years ago due to the action of the water mixed with lava, coming from volcanic activities that took place in that environment which is an inactive desert now.
According to the hypothesis that the European Space Agency (ESA) outlines, the water (or maybe a water-rich mud flow) came in contact with lava when the valley was flooded, what would have caused the formation of the gnarled structures revealed by the new images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board Mars Express. The mission of this spacecraft that arrived to the vicinity of Mars in December 2003 has been prolonged twice, what allows it to continue working until May 2009.
The new pictures were taken last year in June but they have just been presented. They have a resolution of 16 metres per pixel and they cover (judging by their aspect) something that should be the estuary or the valley outlet where the water flowed from the creeks. The region has one of the biggest systems of channels on the red planet. It is dominated by large-scale remnant massifs, which are large relief masses that have been moved and weathered as a block by the water action in the past. The images of ESA cover an area of approximately 140 by 80 km.
For related images: Click Here
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