T. Z. Olympus Mons: the height is 22 km. The depth of the crater is 4 km and its diameter is 40 km
All of the Mars Express instruments were observed from space on the summit of Mount Olympus Mons. Above from left to right: the Mars Express spacecraft and Mount Olympus Mons from above. Below: two angles from the selection that can be obtained thanks to the use of many scientific instruments.
The European Mars Express spacecraft, orbiting Mars since the end of December 2003, transmitted to Earth amazing images of the highest volcano in the solar system (and a mountain in general, not just a volcano). Of course, we are talking about Olympus Mons, a volcano that is 22 kilometers high, a little less than 3 times the second largest mountain, Everest, in the Himalayas on Earth. Only the depth of the crater reaches 3 kilometers.
"I myself was fascinated by the quality of the images, says Prof. Gerard Newcom, the main researcher of the spacecraft camera.
The images were taken from orbit 273 kilometers above the surface of Mars, using the spacecraft's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC). It covers a range with a diameter of 102 kilometers in width with a resolution of 12 meters per pixel.
The main collapse of the crater happened when the lava erupted. She emptied the mag chamber and caused the muzzle to collapse inward. Later lava events produced additional collapses, which look like smaller circular depressions and destroyed the beautiful circular structure of the original crater.
The image revealed tongue-shaped landslides inside the southern wall of the crater. Cracks visible in the crater are tectonic fractures.
The scientists also prepared a black-and-white image of the entire volcano by combining topographic data from the MOLA laser rangefinder with the help of a wide-angle image from the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC).
A perspective view of the southern part of the Olympus Mons crater captured using a combination of different channels of the HRSC. The perspective mirror covers an area about 40 kilometers wide.
