India ’s Mars Orbiter Mission has air back a dramatic image of the Ophir Chasma terrain on Mars , giving us an unprecedented three-D look at one the Solar System ’s largest canyons .
The feature is part of theValles Marineriscanyon system on Mars , a massive gash along the equator that ’s about as long as the United States is wide . In fact , it spans about 20 % , or a fifth , of the entire distance around Mars . Ophir Chasma criterion about 197 miles ( 317 kilometre ) long , and was named after a country mentioned in the Bible .
The walls are comprised of many unlike layers , and the floors contain significant sedimentation of superimposed materials . Some scientist conjecture that the layers formed when water once filled the canyons . In some home , the cliffs drop 5 to 6 geographical mile ( 8 to 10 kilometers ) , to which the Earth ’s Grand Canyon , at a maximum height of 1 mile ( 1.6 kilometer ) , pales in comparing .
The image above was captured by the probe ’s color imager on July 19 at an altitude of 1,216 miles ( 1,857 kilometer ) .
[ ISRO ]
MarsScienceSpace
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