Aeolis Mensae context map

Mars Express’ High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) has provided snapshots of the Aeolis Mensae region on the Red Planet. This area, well-known for its features that reflect the result of the activity of wind on the arid planet, lies on a tectonic transition zone, characterised by incised valleys and unexplained linear features.

The region, imaged on 26 and 29 March 2007, during Mars Express orbit number 4136 and 4247, is located at approximately 6° South and 145° East.

The morphology of the terrain, which lies close to the volcanic region of Elysium, is characterised by an extensive transition zone or the so-called ‘global crustal dichotomy boundary’ which separates the southern highlands and northern lowlands. It exhibits clod-shaped or lumpy relief separated by valleys and intermediated graben structures, or elongated, trench-like erosional features.