NASA's MRO captures breathtaking view of ancient 'lava falls' on Mars

Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

New Delhi: NASA has released a stunning image of ancient 'lava falls' on the Red Planet.

The image was captured by NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and reveals the incredible structures left behind, in a region reminiscent of Niagara Falls.

A glimpse of the northern rim of a 30-kilometer diameter crater with evidence that a lava flow once surrounded the region until it breached at four separate locations, to cascade down the walls can be seen in the 3D image captured by MRO’s Context Camera.

According to NASA, these lava 'falls' cascaded down the wall and terraces of the crater to produce a quasi-circular flow deposit. It seems that the flows were insufficient to fill or even cover the pre-existing deposits of the crater floor.

The image also covers the three falls in the north-central region of the crater wall. The lava flows and falls are distinct as they are rougher than the original features that are smooth and knobby.

A rough-textured lava flow to the north has breached the crater wall at a narrow point, where it then cascades downwards, fanning out and draping the steeper slopes of the wall in the proce.