This view was generated from the digital terrain model and the nadir and colour channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express. It shows a bird’s-eye view of a region inside Trouvelot Crater, and features the worn-away crater wall in the background; the dark, volcanic deposits covering the crater floor; and a light-toned mound seen sitting within these deposits.
The dark material has been shaped by wind into rippling dunes known as ‘barchan’ dunes, visible as the smaller, darker marks sweeping from bottom-left to middle-right. These dunes are characteristically crescent-shaped, and created when winds blow in one direction.
The light-toned mound can be seen to the front-middle of the frame; this feature is around 20 km long and covered in ridges and grooves. It’s thought that this mound formed in the presence of water, but the exact processes involved remain a matter of debate.
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[Image description: A tilted, close-up view of a rugged Martian landscape. The surface shows steep, shadowed ridges running diagonally across the scene, with soft reddish light illuminating their tops. Below the ridges, the terrain becomes darker and smoother, marked by small round craters and patches of rough, textured ground. A pale, sandy, fan‑shaped deposit sits near the lower right, contrasting with the darker surroundings. The overall impression is of a dry, eroded, and richly textured surface shaped by ancient geological forces.]