Protonilus Mensae

Scaled Image

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

The mesas and valleys in this VIS image are part of Protonilus Mensae. Located between the relative highlands of northern Terra Sabaea and the lowlands of Vastitas Borealis, Protonilus Mensae is region of chaos terrain. Chaos terrain is typified by regions of blocky, often steep sided, mesas interspersed with deep valleys. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas become smaller. It has been proposed that a catastrophic outflow of subsurface water creates the chaos. Protonilus Mensae also shows signs of glacial flows, which would continue to modify the surface.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images. 

Context

Image ID: 
V93930014 (View data in Mars Image Explorer)
43.4172
47.0895
93930
2023-02-16 12:47
Thu, 2023-05-11
VIS
256 pixels (19 km)
3792 pixels (290 km)
0.076551 km/pixel
0.0771405 km/pixel

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