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Martian Lava Flows Look Like the Crash Site of Alien Spacecraft

You know those movies where a meteorite, or at times even a spaceship, crashes on Earth, leaving a trail of smoke and fire in the sky, and a very visible indentation in the ground? Well, take a look at this photo here, and tell us that’s not something that comes to mind almost instantly.
Cerberus Fossae region of Mars 8 photos
Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Cerberus Fossae region of MarsCerberus Fossae region of MarsCerberus Fossae region of MarsCerberus Fossae region of MarsCerberus Fossae region of MarsCerberus Fossae region of MarsCerberus Fossae region of Mars
Not one, but two such impressive trails seem to have been dug into the surface of the Red Planet, both ending in a larger and seemingly deeper protuberance, just as it would happen had a spacecraft came crashing down in there.

What you’re looking at is a region of Mars known to us humans as Cerberus Fossae, in the southeastern region of Elysium Planitia. The entire region is filled with “a series of discontinuous fissures” that make it the perfect subject for both study, and incredible images such as the one we have here.

These images, as is the case in fact with all the pics of the Red Planet coming our way from up there, have been captured by the HiRISE orbital camera. The one we have here dates from all the way back in June of last year, when the hardware was orbiting the location at an altitude of 276 km (171 miles).

In all reality, the image shows not the crash site of alien ships, but what scientists call the intersection between Cerberus Fossae and the edge of a long-extinct lava flow. It may be that, or as the scientists from NASA and the University of Arizona very precisely say, some “other feature nearly perpendicular to the fossae.”

Whatever it is, it’s spectacular to look at, from where we are standing and a perfect opportunity to study “stratigraphic relationships and other aspects of the relationship of the fossae to the surrounding terrain,” from where the scientists are standing.
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Editor's note: Gallery shows Cerberus Fossae region of Mars.

About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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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.
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