autoevolution
 

Collapsed Region of Mars Looks Like an Ancient Roman Arena

If you happened to have visited one of those ancient Roman arenas that can be found in several nations over in Europe, then the sight of this thing here might seem familiar. But it doesn’t show such a place of congregation, and it’s not even on our planet.
Mystery depression on Mars 8 photos
Photo: NASA/JPL/UArizona
Strange nipple-like impact crater on MarsStrange nipple-like impact crater on MarsUtopia Planitia region of MarsUtopia Planitia region of MarsUtopia Planitia region of MarsUtopia Planitia region of MarsUtopia Planitia region of Mars
A constant source of mysteries and wonder, planet Mars is slowly shedding its secrets for us. As per NASA itself, “we have learned so much about Mars after over 50 years of exploration with spacecraft,” things the people before us never dreamed possible.

Mars is at the receiving end of the largest number of missions we humans have devised as part of our space exploration programs. The relatively large number of technologies we have sent there over the years might give the impression we pretty much know all there is to know about the place, and what we don’t know, we can make educated guesses about.

But that’s far from the truth, and as NASA once again says, talking about the exact photo seen as the main of this piece, “there are some features that continue to be mysteries.”

The snapshot of an alien world you’re looking at now came our way courtesy of the HiRISE camera. It was snapped at the end of last year, from 299 km (186 miles) above the surface, and shows an undisclosed region of the world.

It’s a depression there, collapsed in itself through some mysterious process that left behind features that look like the steps of Roman arenas. It’s similar to patterns seen on “glaciers that sit atop volcanoes after a small eruption has melted some of the ice,” but this particular area has “no obvious process to remove some of the ice to form these depressions.”

Many of the tens of thousands of images HiRISE sent back already are accompanied by the word mysterious. Chances are we’ll not be able to solve all these mysteries anytime soon, so we’re left with just being amazed, and giving places such as this, meanings we can comprehend.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)

Editor's note: Gallery shows Utopia Planitia region of Mars.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
Daniel Patrascu profile photo

Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories