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Coprates Chasma - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
A small plateau located a spine of mountains separating Coprates Chasma (a main canyon in the Valles Marineris system) from a smaller side canyon paralleling it to the south. This plateau appears to be a small remnant of the flat upland surface present to the north and south of the Valles Marineris. At least two different layers of rock are visible along the sides of this plateau. Similar layers are found along the rim of Valles Marineris. It is unclear when these layers formed, but they were perhaps deposited during the opening stages of Coprates Chasma's formation, when the region started to subside but had yet to form the deep canyons of today..
This image was created using the CRISM imaging spectrometer. Each pixel of a CRISM image contains a 500 point spectrum, from which a color can be reconstructed. This reconstructed color was overlaid on a higher-resolution image taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX), which simultaneously took a photo while CRISM was collecting data.
This image was taken on January 2, 2007. It uses CRISM observation HRS00003B3C and CTX observation P03_002036_1655_XI_14S055W.
Image Credit: NASA / JPL / JHUAPL / MSSS / Justin Cowart
Coprates Chasma - Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
A small plateau located a spine of mountains separating Coprates Chasma (a main canyon in the Valles Marineris system) from a smaller side canyon paralleling it to the south. This plateau appears to be a small remnant of the flat upland surface present to the north and south of the Valles Marineris. At least two different layers of rock are visible along the sides of this plateau. Similar layers are found along the rim of Valles Marineris. It is unclear when these layers formed, but they were perhaps deposited during the opening stages of Coprates Chasma's formation, when the region started to subside but had yet to form the deep canyons of today..
This image was created using the CRISM imaging spectrometer. Each pixel of a CRISM image contains a 500 point spectrum, from which a color can be reconstructed. This reconstructed color was overlaid on a higher-resolution image taken with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Context Camera (CTX), which simultaneously took a photo while CRISM was collecting data.
This image was taken on January 2, 2007. It uses CRISM observation HRS00003B3C and CTX observation P03_002036_1655_XI_14S055W.
Image Credit: NASA / JPL / JHUAPL / MSSS / Justin Cowart