* Astronomy

Ice-coated beauty in Mars' Silver Island


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

High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) nadir and colour channel data taken during revolution 10743 on 8 June 2012 by ESA's Mars Express have been combined to form a natural-colour view of Hooke Crater region in Argyre. Centred at around 45°S and 314°E, this image has a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel. The image shows the western half of the 138 km-wide Hooke Crater, with wind formed dunes at its heart, while to the left of the crater, the ice-covered plains of Argyre Planitia are coated with a thin dusting of frozen carbon dioxide. The very large Argyre impact basin brought materials from the deeper martian crust and mantle to the surface. It provides scientists with one of the locations on Mars with a greater mixture of young/old and deep/surface terrains, providing a window into the planet's past.
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