Hellas is the deepest impact basin on Mars and perhaps in the Solar System. It is usually difficult to image the floor of Hellas because of atmospheric hazes, but sometimes it clears, as when this image was acquired.

This image shows some of the most complex deformed terrain on Mars. Initially, flat continuous layers of sediment were probably deposited, perhaps in a sea or from air fall. Subsequently the layers were squeezed and deformed into the strange patterns visible here. The layers appear to have bent and flowed rather than just broken via faulting, perhaps because the sediments were wet or rich in ice.
Written by: Alfred

All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible: Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.