Brain terrain – 3D

This image features a 4 km-wide impact crater that formed on the rim of an older 15 km-wide crater on Mars. The linear ridge to the top of the image is the rim of the older crater, which itself intersects the rim of an even larger, 40 km-wide crater.

To the left of the image, so-called ‘brain coral terrain’ is visible – so-named because of its likeness in appearance to the ridges on the surface of the human brain. It appears to sit on the floor of the largest crater, although this deposit may be related to the lineated fill that lines the floor of the 15-km crater to the right of the image. Both types of terrain are associated with ice-rich material found near the boundary between Mars’ northern plains and its southern highlands.

Information held in images like these – best viewed with red-blue ‘3D’ glasses to give the impression of depth – help scientists make a detailed study of the order in which the many interacting layers were formed, thus piecing together the history of complex regions.

The image was created from a stereo pair taken by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on 7 February 2019. It is centred at 32.9 ºN/13.7ºE.