SPACE – On Mars there are valleys that, from a distance, resemble our famous Grand Canyon. But as soon as we approach it, we notice a catastrophic difference in size. On Earth, the Grand Canyon is 446 kilometers long and an average depth of 1,600 meters; On Mars, the Noctis Labyrinthus or “Labyrinth of the Night” stretches over 1,200 km with an average depth of… 6 kilometers.
A preview of what a flight over this area would look like was recently released by the European Space Agency (ESA). The origin of this gigantic natural network is likely to be geological movements and volcanic activity. The Night Maze is located near Tharsis Dome, a region home to some of Mars’ largest volcanoes.
A work that spans more than twenty years
In addition to the images, the team used topographic information that allows the Martian surface to be digitized. This helped researchers reconstruct a three-dimensional landscape. In total, each second contains more than 50 images.
This is the result of work begun at the beginning of the century during the deployment of the Mars Express. This probe was launched in June 2003. At the time, it was the first European mission to the Red Planet. Since then, the desire to lead a human expedition to the Martian soil has been reaffirmed, although this “would not be possible before 2035-2040,” said French astronaut Thomas Pesquet in an interview for L’Express.
Also available on HuffPost:
A rare annular solar eclipse and its “ring of fire” observed in the United States and Latin America
After the death of Hubert Reeves, the Quebec astrophysicist reaches the stars