Rusty-looking from orbit, a new image of the Mawrth Vallis region on Mars reveals a world rich in iron, magnesium and aluminum.
To the human eye, our planetary neighbor looks like a reddish dot in the night sky. The Martian surface is rich in iron oxides and minerals. In the same way that a bicycle chain left outside for a while rusts, Martian soil and dust rust and turn reddish.
Cameras orbiting Mars can capture more colors than our eyes can see. The CaSSIS (Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System) instrument on board the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of ESA’s ExoMars mission reveals a surprising diversity of colours.
This CaSSIS image exposes yellow layers containing clays rich in iron and magnesium, overlaid by white and blue layers rich in aluminum. The area is covered by a dark and heavily eroded layer.
The metallic colors of this vibrant landscape tell a story of mineralogical diversity that began about 3.6 billion years ago. The area is located south of the dichotomy boundary, a ridge that surrounds Mars and marks the point where the southern highlands meet the northern lowlands. Mawrth Vallis continues to intrigue scientists with its geological complexity. Liquid water once passed through this area, which was shortlisted as one of the most promising landing sites for the ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin. Another region, Oxia Planum, was chosen as the place where Rosalind Franklin will search for signs of life.
Meanwhile, TGO continues to gather information from orbit around Mars to understand its ancient past and possible habitability. TGO’s full scientific mission began in 2018. The spacecraft is not only sending back spectacular images, but also providing the best inventory of the planet’s atmospheric gases and mapping the planet’s surface in search of water-rich places, ESA reports .
For six years, CaSSIS has been observing Mars in astonishing color, capturing features ranging from volcanic landscapes to active dust devils and colossal sand dunes.
