Perspective view of Mars’s Inca City

This oblique perspective view looks across a part of Mars nicknamed Inca City (formally named Angustus Labyrinthus). The reason for this is no mystery, with the linear network of ridges being reminiscent of Inca ruins. Traces of features known as ‘spiders’ can be seen; these small, dark features form as carbon dioxide gas warms up in sunlight and breaks through slabs of overlying ice.

The image was generated from a digital terrain model and the nadir (downward-pointing) and colour channels of Mars Express’s High Resolution Stereo Camera.

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[Image description: This rectangular image shows part of the martian surface as if the viewer is looking down and across the landscape, with the irregular, mottled ground appearing in swirled tones of brown and tan.]