ESA Mars Express: HRSC Images - Mountains Look Frosty

This computer-generated perspective view of Charitum Montes was created using data obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express.

The image shows the large breach in the northern wall of the crater, located near to the uppermost sand dune.

Centred at around 53°S and 334°E, the image has a ground resolution of about 20 m per pixel. The image shows the large breach in the northern wall of the crater, located near to the uppermost sand dune. 

The dusting of carbon dioxide ice is a seasonal feature in this region, which covers the crater floor and the surrounding plains.

CREDIT: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft orbiting Mars has snapped wintry-looking pictures of a mountain range on the Red Planet's southern highlands, where ridges and crater floors are dusted with carbon dioxide frost.

The pictures were captured by the high-resolution stereo camera on the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express.

They show part of Charitum Montes, a large group of rugged mountains stretching over nearly 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) near the southernmost rim of the Argyre impact basin. The brighter features represent a seasonal layer of carbon dioxide frost.

The images, which were obtained on June 18, show that the mountainous region is pockmarked with many large craters, which have been largely filled in with thick sedimentary deposits.

Annotated image of Charitum Montes.

Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

This colour-coded overhead view is based on an ESA Mars Express HRSC digital terrain model of the region, from which the topography of the landscape can be derived. 

The colour coding shows the very edge of the Charitum Montes mountain region at the top of the image, with the highest elevation, while the subtle pedestal craters that dot the image almost fade away with just a small amount of relief difference between the elevated ejecta and the surrounding area. 

Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)