Posted by tourdemars to Mars Express at April 24, 2005 09:08 AM

These images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on board ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, show the 'chaotic' terrain of the Aureum Chaos region on Mars. Aureum Chaos is located in the eastern part of Valles Marineris, south-west of the 280 kilometre-wide impact crater Aram Chaos. Like this impact basin, both regions are two examples of the chaotic terrain contained in this part of the Valles Marineris. As the name ‘chaos’ suggests, this terrain is characterised by randomly oriented, large-scale mesas and knobs that are heavily eroded and dominate the area. As seen in the main colour image, these mesas range from a few kilometres to tens of kilometres wide.