Tectonic fractures within the Candor Chasma region of Valles Marineris,
Mars, retain ridge-like shapes as the surrounding bedrock erodes away.
This points to past episodes of fluid alteration along the fractures and
reveals clues into past fluid flow and geochemical conditions below the
surface.
The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera on NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter took this image on Dec. 2, 2006. The image is
approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) across. Illumination from the upper
left.
This view is a portion of the camera's image catalogued as PSP_001641_1735.
A full resolution file of this image is available for download by clicking
here (69 MB).
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute
of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for
NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the
spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by
the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball
Aerospace and Technology Corp., Boulder, Colo.
