Massive scar discovered on Mars – see the photos

Aganippe Fossa, a 373-mile long crack in Mars' surface, is a graben
It is bigger than Earth's Grand Canyon by roughly 100 miles
Scar leaks lava, as it was likely formed by volcanic activity

Updated: Jul 9, 2024 / 08:34 AM EDT

(NewsNation) — Photos from the European Space Agency show a massive, lava-leaking scar on Mars larger than our own Grand Canyon.

Dubbed the Aganippe Fossa, the 373-mile long crack in Mars’ surface, is a graben — a “ditch-like groove with steep walls on either side.”

Photos taken by the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera show the scar slicing through the marbled base of one of Mars’ largest volcanoes, Arsia Mons, in the Red Planet’s volcanically rich region of Tharsis.

Topographical map of Aganippe Fossa, the 373-mile long crack in Mars' surface. — A topographical map from the European Space Agency show a massive, lava leaking graben on Mars called the Aganippe Fossa.

Photos from the European Space Agency show a massive, lava leaking graben on Mars called the Aganippe Fossa. — A topographical map from the European Space Agency show a massive, lava leaking graben on Mars called the Aganippe Fossa.

“We’re still unsure of how and when Aganippe Fossa came to be, but it seems likely that it was formed as magma rising underneath the colossal mass of the Tharsis volcanoes caused Mars’s crust to stretch and crack,” ESA said in a news release.

The Red Planet’s surface has plenty of other dents, scratches and scars, including the fingernail scratches of Tantalus Fossae and Valles Marineris canyon system.

Mars Express has orbited Mars since 2003, imaging its red surface, observing its tenuous atmosphere and mapping out its minerals.