Mars Express provides detailed visualizations of Noctis Labyrinthus, a massive valley system on Mars, revealing its unique geology and the impact of Tharsis volcanism on the Martian crust. Located between the giant Martian "Valles Marineris" and the tallest volcano in the solar system (the Tharsis region), Noctis Labyrinthus is a huge system of deep valleys and steep valleys that stretches about 740 miles (1,190 kilometers), roughly the length of Italy on Earth.
Noctis Labyrinthus is a massive valley system on Mars located between the massive volcanoes of the Valles Marineris and Tharsis regions. Mars Express's High-Resolution Remote Sensing Center produced a video that visually demonstrates the process of flying over this landscape, revealing the "graben" landform caused by the powerful eruption of Tharsis volcano. This phenomenon caused the Martian crust to stretch and sink. Source: ESA/DLR/FUBerlin&NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
This video shows Mars Express's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) flying over the eastern region of Noctis Labyrinthus. It offers perspective views over and across this fascinating landscape, showcasing unique "grabens" - portions of the earth's crust that have sunk relative to their surroundings. The formation of these features is attributed to powerful volcanic eruptions in the nearby Tharsis region; volcanic eruptions caused large areas of the Martian crust to arch upward and subject it to tensile and tectonic stress, which caused the crust to thin, fault, and subside.
The video begins with a rotating panorama of Mars, with the white polar caps and mottled tan surface clearly visible. The camera then zooms in to the westernmost end of the large bay-canyon system, with a white box highlighting this area, and cuts to Mars Express' new maze night view. The camera then slowly flies over a landscape divided by crisscrossing deep valleys and canyons. Source: ESA/DLR/Federal University Berlin and NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
The highest plateau seen here represents the original surface level before large chunks of the surface were shed. The interlacing canyons and valleys are up to 30 kilometers wide and 6 kilometers deep. In many places, huge landslides can be seen covering the valley slopes and valley floors, while other valley slopes show vast dune fields created by Martian winds blowing sand down and up.
ESA highlighted the labyrinth landscape images taken by Mars Express in 2006 and 2015. Mars Express has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2003, imaging the Martian surface, mapping Martian minerals, studying Mars' fragile atmosphere, detecting conditions beneath the Martian crust, and exploring how various phenomena interact in the Martian environment.