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\t\t\t\t\t\t21\/05\/2025<\/span> To create a crumbly crater rich in ice and chunky blocks soaked in layers of martian history \u2013 like this one recently observed by the European Space Agency\u2019s Mars Express \u2013 follow this recipe:<\/p>\n The new image, taken by Mars Express\u2019s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) in October 2024, showcases Deuteronilus Cavus, a roughly 120 km-wide depression situated in the transitional zone between the planet\u2019s rugged southern highlands and smoother northern lowlands.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The feature has been a long time in the making, preserving details from volcanic, glacial, water and wind-related activity across four billion years of history.<\/p>\n Its nearly circular shape suggests an impact crater origin. The collision likely happened around 4.1\u20133.7 billion years ago, when the planet was being peppered by asteroids and comets. Over time, erosion by water and ice has reshaped the original crater, enlarging it to nearly twice its initial size.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The crater rim is cut by channels (see \u2018branched channel\u2019 closeup). These channels may have initially formed from water flowing across Mars\u2019s surface, or as water under the surface drained away, collapsing the weakened surface above.<\/p>\n The grooved surface texture in some of the channels and alcoves cut into the crater rim points to previously present ice. The linear grooves indicate where boulders frozen into the base of a glacier were dragged along, gouging out the troughs visible today.<\/p>\n Around the base of the crater\u2019s inner walls, we can see the smooth, tongue-shaped ends of rock-covered glaciers (see \u2018glacial flow\u2019 closeup). These \u2018debris aprons\u2019 formed when ice mixed together with rocky debris along the crater walls during a period of glaciation, and slowly crept downslope.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Deuteronilus Cavus is situated in the mid-latitudes of Mars, so the glaciers are thought to have formed in this region when the planet\u2019s axis was more dramatically tilted away from the Sun than it is today.<\/p>\n Inside the crater is a jumbled mixture of chunky knobs, mesas, channels and smoother plains, reminiscent of \u2018rocky road\u2019 refrigerator cake (see \u2018jumbled blocks\u2019 closeup). Instead of marshmallows standing above a sea of melted chocolate, here we have stronger blocks of rock (knobs and mesas) that have resisted erosion from wind, water or ice flowing around them. The blocks could well be the remnants of a collapsed peak of rock that once stood in the centre of the crater, although this complex collection of features is typical of the wider region in general.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Much of the crater interior is covered by a dark deposit, likely wind-blown volcanic ash. The brighter deposits shining through the dark material are known to contain clay minerals, formed by volcanic ash mixing with water, suggesting that liquid water may have ponded here for some time.<\/p>\n Further evidence of volcanic activity is seen in the \u2018wrinkle ridges\u2019 that ripple across the smoother terrain that surrounds the crater, formed as lava flows cooled and contracted.<\/p>\n This feature-rich crater has all the ingredients for exploring Mars\u2019s varied geological processes, giving us a tantalising taste of its complex history.<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s Mars Express has been observing and analysing Mars\u2019s many landscapes for more than two decades, returning insights that have drastically changed our understanding of our planetary neighbour. Explore more, here.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Notes for editors:<\/b><\/p>\n The Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) was developed and is operated by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum f\u00fcr Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). The systematic processing of the camera data took place at the DLR Institute of Planetary Research in Berlin-Adlershof. The working group of Planetary Science and Remote Sensing at Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin used the data to create the image products shown here.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n For more information please contact:<\/b><\/p>\n ESA Media Relations, media@esa.int<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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