New imagery from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter indicates that Mars experienced massive flooding around 3.5 billion years ago, dramatically reshaping its surface.
At the centre of the findings is Shalbatana Vallis, a 1,300-kilometre-long channel near the Martian equator.
The surrounding landscape reveals eroded craters, volcanic ash deposits, and wrinkle ridges formed as cooling lava contracted.
The valley lies between Mars’s heavily cratered southern highlands and smoother northern lowlands, near Chryse Planitia, one of the planet’s lowest areas.
Researchers suggest this basin may once have hosted an ancient ocean, pointing to a dramatically wetter and more geologically active early Mars.
New imagery from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter indicates that Mars experienced massive flooding around 3.5 billion years ago, dramatically reshaping its surface. The photographs, captured by the spacecraft’s High Resolution Stereo Camera, show evidence of powerful water flows that carved valleys, transported vast sediment volumes, and altered impact craters within a relatively short geological period.
At the centre of the findings is Shalbatana Vallis, a 1,300-kilometre-long channel near the Martian equator. According to ESA, “Groundwater burst to the surface, carved a valley 10 km wide and 500 m deep, and then vanished.” The feature is comparable in length to Italy and is considered one of several large outflow channels in the region.
The surrounding landscape reveals eroded craters, volcanic ash deposits, and wrinkle ridges formed as cooling lava contracted. Scientists also identified chaotic terrain created when underground ice melted and collapsed.
The valley lies between Mars’s heavily cratered southern highlands and smoother northern lowlands, near Chryse Planitia, one of the planet’s lowest areas. Researchers suggest this basin may once have hosted an ancient ocean, pointing to a dramatically wetter and more geologically active early Mars.
