ESA-Roscosmos' ExoMars orbiter details Martian geology in first detailed image of 2022

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), which has been hovering over Mars since 2016, has beamed back the first image from the red planet in 2022. Shared by the European Space Agency (ESA), the image was captured by the CaSSIS camera onboard the TGO and details the 'geology in motion' on Mars. According to ESA, the picture shows the Noctis Labyrinthus region of the red planet where boulders have fallen from the edge of the cliff seen in the image.

ESA explains the Martian 'geology in motion'

A cliff-like feature can be spotted running right through the middle portion of the image, which represents the horst-graben system of Mars. ESA explains that the horsts are basically raised ridges and plateaus on either side of sunken valleys called graben that result from the planet being pulled apart from the tectonic processes that occurred on the red planet. Although it doesn't look much in the image, this network of plateaus and trenches at the Noctis Labyrinthus spans around 1200 kilometres with some of the individual cliffs being over 5 kilometres high. 

On the ride side of the picture, one can spot patches of linear ripples that have been shaped by the wind along with small craters that were formed from asteroid impacts. What you are seeing in the image is a region that intersects Lus Chasma of Valles Marineris, which is also called the ‘grand canyon’ of Mars. 

Built jointly by ESA and Russian space agency Roscosmos, the ExoMars orbiter began its operations in 2018, two years after entering Mars' orbit and has been sending back mapped images of the planet’s atmospheric gases and water-rich locations. ESA says that apart from its current operations, the orbiter will also provide data relay services to the Rosalind Franklin rover and Kazachok platform, when they will touch down the red planet in 2023, under the second ExoMars mission. The Rosalind Franklin rover will be the first one developed by ESA that will join NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rover on Mars. Meant to expand human understanding of ancient Mars, the ESA- Roscosmos mission is likely to be launched this year. 

Image: Twitter/@ESA