Perspective view of frosty Olympus Mons

This simulated perspective oblique view shows Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano not only on Mars but in the entire Solar System. The volcano measures some 600 km across.

These data were obtained by the High Resolution Stereo Camera aboard ESA’s Mars Express, and the oblique perspective angle subsequently created using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The data were gathered as part of new research revealing water frost for the first time near Mars’s equator (a part of the planet where it was thought improbable for frost to exist). The vertical scale is exaggerated by a factor of five.

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