The floor of Hellas Basin is often obscured by atmospheric haze and dust, but it tends to be quite clear this time of year (northern spring and southern fall).

HiRISE images are revealing some very strange landforms on the floor of Hellas. Materials appear to have flowed in a viscous manner, like ice. Viscous flow features are common over the middle latitudes of Mars, but those in Hellas are often distinctive for unknown reasons.

The subimage shows an interesting area in color (reddish areas are dustier).

This image completes a stereo pair with PSP_007715_1420, so be sure to check out the stereo anaglyph.

Written by: Alfred McEwen

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.