The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a stunning image of the Martian surface taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
The photo shows the Holden impact crater, named after American astronomer Edward Holden, founder of the Pacific Astronomical Society.
The bottom of the crater is full of bizarre patterns, which, according to researchers, were formed under the influence of powerful water flows. The crater contains some of the most pronounced lacustrine deposits on the Red Planet.
It is curious that at one time the crater was considered as a possible landing area for the automatic planetary rover Curiosity, but then, for a number of reasons, another region was chosen.
We add that the MRO apparatus entered the Martian orbit in March 2006. This station, among other things, solves such problems as creating a detailed map of the Martian landscape using a high-resolution camera and selecting landing sites for future missions on the planet's surface.
Source: 3dnews.ru