A few days ago, Nasa released images that showed evidence of molten lava waterfalls on Mars. The images show lava cascading down the walls and terrace of a crater as it makes its way to the crater floor.

These 3D images of a 19-mile wide crater have been taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (MRO) Context Camera. This crater is situated in the western portion of the Tharsis volcanic province (see below). Tharsis is a volcanic region near the equator of Mars and home to some of the largest volcanoes in the entire Solar System. Three volcanoes have been identified here – Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons with the latter being the tallest at 59,000 feet (20,000 feet taller than Mount Everest).

The MRO was launched in 2005 as a multipurpose spacecraft that was to explore Mars from orbit. It has several cameras, spectrometers and a radar that attain information about the red planet, allowing scientists to learn more about its stratigraphy, morphology, mineral abundance, and ice. These recent images will help geologists to understand Mars’ volcanic history.

Mars does not have a liquid spinning core, preventing it from developing a magnetic field. This means that the planet is unable to protect itself from a bombardment of charged particles and, in turn, it is unable to develop an atmosphere suitable for human colonization. However, NASA have recently announced that they are looking into launching a giant magnetic field that would protect Mars from solar winds. Will it work?

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