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Mars has a substantial network of canyons that extends about 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers)throughout its equator. This canyon system, called Valles Marineris, is the biggest in the planetary system, overshadowing Earth’s biggest canyonwhich covers 460 miles (750 km) under Greenland’s ice sheet. (Condolences to the Grand Canyon and its simple 277-mile length.)

Imaged by NASA’s Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1972, Valles Marineris has actually been caught by the HiRISE cam on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter lots of times in its 19 years in orbit. This geological marvel still holds numerous tricks.

This most current picture, taken May 24 and released recently, is of the eastern side of Candor Chasma, among the biggest canyons within Valles Marineris. What it exposes might alter how planetary geologists consider Mars’ ancient environment.

Utilizing its capability to see information to the size of a cooking area tableHiRISE produced an image that reveals layered deposits of sediment numerous meters thick, researchers at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, which established and runs the video camera, stated in a description of the imageMost importantly, these layers of sediment should date to after the canyon itself formed, since they appear to have actually been worn down, deformed and bent by tectonic motions.

Related: 32 things on Mars that appear like they should not exist

Mars does not have plate tectonics like Earth does. Rather, its crust resembles one giant plate, according to NASAFaults and fractures still form in the Martian crust as it cools. Unlike Earth’s Grand Canyon, which was sculpted by a river, Valles Marineris– consisting of Candor Chasma– is believed to have actually formed by volcanic activity, with landslides, floods and disintegration later on shaping it into its present kind.

In 2021, the European Space Agency (ESA) exposed that the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, a cooperation in between ESA and the Russian area firm, had discovered water underneath the surface area in Candor ChasmaIt’s believed that approximately 40% of the near-surface product in Valles Marineris might be water. That would make it similar to Earth’s permafrost areas in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Siberia, where water ice completely continues under dry soil since of the continuous low temperature levels.

With its high walls and disorderly landscapes, Candor Chasma would be challenging for a Mars rover to check out. The German Space Agency’s Valles Marineris Exploration job would study the possibility of sending out a swarm of self-governing rovers, spiders and uncrewed aerial lorries to this treacherous surface.

For more superb area images, have a look at our Area Photo of the Week archives

Jamie Carter is a self-employed reporter and routine Live Science factor based in Cardiff, U.K. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie routinely composes for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife publication and Scientific American, and lots of others. He modifies WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.

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