Mars Express Spots Dark Ash Creeping Across the Red Planet
TL;DR
ESA’s Mars Express captured a November 9, 2024 image showing a dark blanket of volcanic ash creeping over Mars near Utopia Planitia, contrasting with NASA’s 1976 Viking views. Scientists suggest the ash spread could be wind-driven or the dust covering it has been removed, indicating surface change over decades. The feature sits above ice beneath the surface and includes scalloped depressions that hint at periglacial processes, underscoring Mars’ volcanic history and ongoing landscape evolution mapped by Mars Express since 2003.
Topics:sciencespace-and-spaceflight#exomars#mars#mars-express#space-and-spaceflight#utopia-planitia#volcanism
- This New Image of Mars Is Not the Same Thing NASA Saw in 1976 Gizmodo
- Dark volcanic ash has visibly reshaped Martian surface since 1976 Phys.org
- Dark ash on Utopia Planitia The Planetary Society
- ESA Spots Mysterious Dark Cloud Moving Across Mars: Scientists Keep Tracking Its Growth The Daily Galaxy
- Mars Express image of part of Utopia Planitia on Mars European Space Agency
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