Science and Exploration

Channels To the North of Savich Crater On Mars

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
August 25, 2022
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Channels To the North of Savich Crater On Mars
Channels To the North of Savich Crater On Mars

This image covers channels cutting through the ancient rim of Savich Crater, a 188 kilometer-wide depression near the northeastern edge of the much larger Hellas impact basin. The channels were likely eroded by water flowing into Savich Crater long ago.

Our image reveals layers of varying brightness and texture exposed along the channels. Individual boulders are visible within the brighter layers (appearing blue-white in this enhanced color view), while redder layers lack distinct boulders.

The meter-scale boulders could have been transported by floodwaters, or perhaps could be an even more ancient rock unit broken apart by impacts that these channels subsequently exposed.

Larger image

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.