Meridiani Planum in high resolution

Meridiani Planum at the northern edge of the southern highlands of Mars. It lies between the volcanic Tharsis Region to the west and the low-lying Hellas Planitia impact basin to the south-east. Through a telescope, Meridiani Planum is a striking, dark feature, close to the martian equator. It extends 127 km by 63 km and covers an area of roughly 8000 sq km, similar in size to Cyprus. The High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), onboard ESA’s Mars Express, took this image. It was obtained on 1 September 2005, during orbit 2097, and possesses a resolution of approximately 13 metres per pixel. The image was derived from the HRSC nadir channel, which provides the highest detail of all the channels.