This feature can be mistaken for a tree stump. Tree With its concentric rings. It’s actually a stunning orbital view of an ice-rich impact crater on Mars.
Tree rings provide snapshots of Earth’s climate in the past, and although they were formed in a very different way, Patterns within this crater also reveal details of the Red Planet’s history.
The image was taken by the CaSSIS camera aboard the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) on June 13, 2021 in The vast plains of North Asiadalia Planitia, At northern latitudes on Mars.
The crater is filled from the inside with sediments that are likely rich in water ice. These deposits are thought to have been deposited during an earlier period in Mars’ history when the tilt of the planet’s rotation axis allowed the formation of water-ice deposits at lower latitudes. Just as on Earth, the tilt of Mars gives rise to the seasons, but unlike Earth, His inclination changed dramatically over long periods of time.
One of the notable features of the crater sediments is the presence of semi-circular and polygonal fracture patterns. These features are likely the result of seasonal changes in temperature that cause cycles of expansion and contraction for ice-rich materials, This eventually leads to the development of fractures.
Understanding the history of water on Mars and whether this allows life to thrive is at the heart of the European Space Agency’s ExoMars missions. TGO reached Mars in 2016 and began its full science mission in 2018.
As explained by the European Space Agency It’s a statementNot only does the spacecraft return stunning images, but it also provides the best-ever stock of gases in the planet’s atmosphere, with a special focus on gases of geological and biological importance. and mapping the planet’s surface in search of places rich in water.
It will also provide data migration services for ExoMars second mission Consisting of the Rosalind Franklin rover and the Kazachuk platform, when it reaches Mars in 2023. The rover will explore a region of Mars that was previously thought to harbor an ancient ocean, And look for signs of life underground.
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