A Colorful Landslide in Eos Chasma On Mars
ID: ESP_070264_1675, date: 23 July 2021, altitude: 265 km https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_070264_1675 — NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
This image was requested in the very first month of MRO’s Primary Science Phase, November 2006. Due to many competing targets in the Valles Marineris canyon system, it took until 2021 to acquire. But it was worth the wait!
A massive landslide has transported diverse rocks from the canyon’s wall layers down onto its floor, jumbling them up in the process. Lower-resolution infrared data had previously revealed an unusual concentration of the igneous mineral orthopyroxene at this location.
The range of colors visible to HiRISE implies that many other minerals are present here as well.
Astrobiology,
