Another successful Mars mission has been the European Space Agency's Mars Express, which launched about 10 years ago. It has taken a lot of really superb pictures of Mars, some of which I've blogged about here. The one they released recently is no exception. My picture here isn't as high resolution as you can get; I recommend following the link and then going to the high-res pictures if you really want to get the full effect! It is stunning.
The flood waters of Mars
Kasei Valles splits into two main branches that hug a broad island of fractured terrain - Sacra Mensa - rising 2 km above the channels that swerve around it. While weaker materials succumbed to the erosive power of the fast-flowing water, this hardier outcrop has stood the test of time.
Slightly further downstream, the flood waters did their best to erase the 100 km-wide Sharonov crater, crumpling its southern rim. Around Sharonov, many small streamlined islands form teardrop shapes rising from the riverbed, carved as water swept around these natural obstacles.
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