Topographic view of Ismenia Patera
This colour-coded topographic view shows a crater named Ismenia Patera within Arabia Terra, an intriguing part of Mars’ surface thought to have once hosted significant volcanic activity.
Scientists remain unsure of exactly how Ismenia Patera formed; it may be the result of a meteorite smashing into the surface of Mars and forming an impact crater, or the collapsed remnants of a once-massive supervolcano.
This topographic view is based on a digital terrain model of Arabia Terra, from which the topography of the landscape can be derived, and observations taken on 1 January 2018 by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express. It shows the area in relief; as shown in the overlaid bar to the top right, purple and blue shades represent low depressions, while red–orange shades mark higher parts of the surface (values are displayed on the scale). The ground resolution is about 17 m/pixel and the image is centred at about 39°N / 2°E.
