A new video, “The Many Faces of Mars” showcases the similarities between Earth and its neighbor.
Thanks to the multitude of data and images captured and beamed back by its MRO, NASA recently released a new video presenting the many faces of the Red Planet. Named “The Many Faces of Mars”, it shows that Earth and its neighbor are both extremely different but also quite alike.
NASA compiled this short new video based on the data sent back by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or MRO. Launched back in 2005, this has been orbiting around the Red Planet since 2006. Throughout this period, the spacecraft already beamed back over 300 terabits of data and accomplished well over 50,000 orbits of the planet.
Some of The Many Faces of Mars Resemble Earth
“Earth has more in common with Mars than you might think. Color-enhanced images like these help scientists interpret dynamic features on the Red Planet,” state NASA officials in the video’s description.
For example, some elements spotted on Mars, such as dust storms, dry lakebeds, and sand dunes, could have well been detected here on Earth. Through its new video, NASA presents the many faces of Mars and offers particular attention to the similarities between the two planets.
Still, MRO’s images also go to show the many differences between the two. For example, new photos from the spacecraft revealed the presence of a giant hole in Mars’s “Swiss cheese terrain”. This, in itself, could be a prime example all by itself as the surface is covered in shallow pits and craters. These leave a mark on the residual cap of carbon dioxide ice formed in the planet’s Southern Hemisphere.
For the moment, researchers are unsure what may have caused this giant and deep hole. Besides an asteroid strike, they are also vehiculating its being a collapse pit. This could also tie it to Mars’s highly intense volcanic activity in the past, another similarity and also difference to Earth.
Image Source: Wikimedia
