A Complex Geologic History Of Aram Chaos On Mars

This 280-kilometer diameter crater center has experienced a long history of water activity.
Within the crater is a heavily faulted and fractured terrain called Aram Chaos that consists of darker volcanic rocks that were disrupted as a result of water and/or magma withdrawal in the subsurface. Above this chaotic terrain are brighter materials made up of different kinds of sulfates that formed when water filled the crater. CRISM data collected along with HiRISE images indicate that the sulfates consist of monohydrated, polyhydrated, and ferric hydroxysulfate, with each composition representing a different geochemical environment within the waters that once resided within Aram Chaos. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA25358

Date Created: 2022-06-27
Center: JPL
Keywords: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Mars
Secondary Creator Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
NASA ID: PIA25358 Larger image