ESA’s Mars Robot Finds a Giant Indentation on the Red Planet, This Is What It Looks Like All

KOMPAS.com – European Space Agency (ESA) claims to have discovered unique geological features on the planet Mars, which is in the form of a giant indentation. It was successfully recorded robot Mars ESA’s Express, which has been orbiting Mars since 2003.

The ESA explained, the feature displays “amazing detail” where it looks like a large scratch on the planet’s surface.

“At first glance, this feature looks like someone has poked their fingernails on the surface Red Planet,” wrote the ESA on its official website, Thursday (28/4/2022).

The depressions in the planet’s surface are part of a giant fault system on Mars, known as Tantalus Fossae which means basin.

Tantalus Fossae runs along the eastern flank of the Martian volcano, the relatively flat and broad Mount Alba Mons.

Read also: Perseverance Robot Successfully Collects Martian Rock, but Samples Disappear

“This area (the giant indentation taken by the Mars ESA robot) is named after Tantalus, the son of the gods Zeus and Plouto who according to ancient Greek legend betrayed the gods and was forced by Hades to stand in the water under a fruit tree,” he said.

In terms of surface area, continued ESA, Alba Mons is the largest volcano on Mars with volcanic flows that can end up at least 1,350 km long.

But at its highest point, the height of the volcano is only 6.8 km. Meanwhile, Fossa is formed when the peak of Mount Alba Mons rises and causes the surrounding surface to warp, elongate, and break.

Reported from Science AlertMonday (9/5/2022) in addition to the details in the images captured by Mars Express, this trough has a depth of up to 350 meters with a width of 10 km, and can stretch up to 1,000 km.

In the image taken by the ESA robot, it can be seen giant curve on the planet Mars brown and indeed the original color when viewed from the place of origin.

Read also: Mars Photo Taken by NASA’s Perseverance Robot, This is the Face of the Red Planet

It says that the basic resolution of the images is approximately 18 meters per pixel. So, the results can be seen quite clearly by the naked eye.

“The same feature can be found on the western flank of Alba Mons, forming an incomplete ring around the volcano,” the ESA said.

It is thought that these structures did not form all at once, but that one after another, several troughs crossed each other.

Until now, the planet Mars is still a big mystery to scientists.

Because of this, various space agencies including ESA use dozens of robots to travel on the surface and their orbits.

Read also: NASA’s InSight Robot Detects 2 Strong Earthquakes Shake Mars

One of them is that Mars Express has been orbiting Mars for more than 18 years.

Mars Express is tasked with imaging the Martian surface, mapping minerals, identifying the composition and circulation of the atmosphere, exploring beneath the crust, and observing various phenomena in the Martian environment.

The orbiter is also equipped with a high-resolution stereo camera (HRSC), which has discovered the latest features of Mars.

Some of the areas he managed to record were mountains, impact craters, tectonic faults, channels, to ancient lava pools on the planet Mars.

Read also: NASA’s Perseverance Robot Successfully Lands on Mars, Finds Evidence of Life

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