Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Other Great Pics

Indian Mars Orbiter Reveals Stunning 3D Images of Martian Canyon

Dragos Mitrica by Dragos Mitrica
August 19, 2015
in Great Pics, Remote sensing, Space
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

A while ago, we were telling you about the Indian Orbiter Mission to Mars – the cheapest Mars mission ever. The probe made history as it entered Martian orbit, and is still sending high quality data back to Earth, as well as amazing pictures. Now these photographs focus on the Ophir Chasma, a giant canyon on Mars that’s 62 km (38.5 miles) wide and 317 km (197 miles) long.

“The word chasma has been designated by the International Astronomical Union to refer to an elongate, steepsided depression. Ophir Chasma is part ofthe largest canyon system in the solar system known as vallesmarineris. The walls of the chasma contain many layers and the floors contain large deposits of layered materials. This image is taken on 19th July 2015 at an altitude of 1857 km with a resolution of 96 m,” the Indian Space Agency wrote.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Ophir Chasma is part of the largest canyon system in the solar system – it’s so big that it would stretch across the entire US. It’s also part of a huge rift system, Valles Marineris. Although Valles Marineris has been seen several times both from Earth and from Mars orbit, it’s the first time we actually get to see it like this. These images were taken by the Mars Colour Camera on board India’s orbiter on 19 July 2015, at an altitude of 1,857 km.

This makes the entire Indian mission even more spectacular. Not only did they manage to enter Martian orbit on the first try (a first; half of all Mars missions fail before they reach orbit), but they did so while costing just US$74 million – less than the $100 million budget for the movie Gravity, and about six times less than NASA’s Mars Orbiter Mission.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: india space programmars orbiterophir chasma
ShareTweetShare
Dragos Mitrica

Dragos Mitrica

Dragos has been working in geology for six years, and loving every minute of it. Now, his more recent focus is on paleoclimate and climatic evolution, though in his spare time, he also dedicates a lot of time to chaos theory and complex systems.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.