Multiple Craters; Both Young And Old In Sirenum Fossae

Elevation of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands of Mars. The image shows the region centred at about 28 degrees S, 185 degrees E.

It extends some 230 by 127 kilometres and covers 29,450 square kilometres, roughly the size of Belgium. For more images please go here.

The High Resolution Stereo Camera, operated by the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) on board the Mars Express orbiter has imaged craters, both young and old, in this view of the Southern Highlands of Mars.

Part of the Sirenum Fossae region in the Southern Highlands, the area in this image is centred at about 28 degrees S, 185 degrees E. The image captures an area to the north of the Magelhaens Crater. It extends some 230 by 127 kilometres and covers about 29,450 square kilometres, roughly the size of Belgium. The image resolution is approximately 29 metres per pixel.

Sirenum Fossae extends more than 2500 kilometres to the southwest of the Tharsis volcanic region, which houses Olympus Mons, the highest volcano in our Solar System.

Sirenum Fossae is system of grabens, formed by stresses placed on the crust during the uplift of the Tharsis region. A graben is visible as two sets of parallel lines running from top to bottom to the left of centre.

The Southern Highlands are older than the Northern Lowlands, based on the larger number of impact craters seen covering the region. Craters 50 kilometres in diameter are common in this area and have usually suffered from erosion, indicating they were formed during ancient times.