NoctisVolcano-NewsRelease-Pic1-FINAL-3500px (IMAGE)
Caption
Figure 1: A giant volcano hiding in plain sight in one of Mars’ most iconic regions.
The newly discovered giant volcano on Mars is located just south of the planet’s equator, in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus, west of Valles Marineris, the planet’s vast canyon system. The volcano sits on the eastern edge of a broad regional topographic rise called Tharsis, home to three other well-known giant volcanoes: Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons. Although more eroded and less high than these giants, the newly discovered volcano rivals the others in diameter, which is about 450 km (280 miles) (red dashed circle in this picture). Possible buried glacier ice is also reported under a relatively recent volcanic deposit within the perimeter of the eroded volcano, making the area attractive for the search for life and future robotic and human exploration.
Credit
Background image: NASA/USGS Mars globe. Geologic interpretation and annotations by Pascal Lee and Sourabh Shubham 2024
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