The European Space Agency seemed as if it were about to write a science-fiction horror movie when it issued a statement on Wednesday titled “Mars sleeps with one eye open” (Mars sleeps with one eye open). The main image shows a crater surrounded by vein-like channels. Between the round crater and the channels that resemble a vein, ESA made the imaginative leap by stating that it looks like a human eye’s pupil.
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The space agency's Mars Express spacecraft captured a view of a cratered region called Aonia Terra in late April. ESA said the channels in the image were likely conduits for liquid water about 3.5-4 billion years ago.
A lot can be learned from an image like this. The different colors and shapes are geological clues. “Within the crater, a dark field of dunes rests on a lighter surface . Upon closer inspection, it becomes apparent that the crater is filled with more mountains and cone-shaped hills . This indicates that many different materials accumulated within the crater ,” ESA said.
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ESA also shared a color topographic image. Blue and purple indicate lower areas, while higher elevations are in red and white. The crater, which is mostly blue, is about 30 kilometers wide.
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Mars Express has been residing on the red planet since 2003. It studies the atmosphere, geology, and environment of Mars and sometimes sends back wonderfully strange images of landscapes.
Information source: cnet.com
