Mars orbiter captures striking images of 'chaos and craters' carved by ancient floods

Stunning new images from Europe's Mars Express orbiter reveal a rugged Martian landscape carved by catastrophic floods that once tore across the Red Planet billions of years ago. The dramatic new view, released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on May 13, spotlights Shalbatana Vallis, a sprawling Martian channel system near the planet's equator that stretches roughly 800 miles (1,300 kilometers, or about the length of Italy. The image was taken by Mars Express' High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), highlighting what planetary scientists call "chaotic terrain," according to a statement from the space agency. Chaotic terrain is characterized by fractured, jumbled blocks of rock thought to have formed when underground ice melted and caused the surface above to collapse. In Shalbatana Vallis, the landscape sits alongside winding valleys gouged out by immense floods that once surged across Mars around 3.5 billion years ago. "This kind of terrain is common on Mars, and has been captured before by Mars Express," ESA officials said in the statement. Researchers believe huge quantities of groundwater likely burst onto the surface in a series of catastrophic floods that surged downhill and rapidly carved the waterworn valleys visible today. The main channel seen in the images measures about 6 miles (10 kilometers) wide and plunges roughly 1,640 feet (500 meters) deep. A new image from ESA's Mars Express shows part of Shalbatana Vallis, a large channel in Mars's equatorial region. …