Schiaparelli is a large impact basin about 460 km across, located in the eastern Terra Meridiani region of the planet’s equator. The image shows just a small part of the basin’s northwestern rim cutting diagonally across the image (top left–bottom right) and a smaller 42-km-diameter crater embedded in its rim. The image is centred on the equator of Mars, at a longitude of about 14°E. The image was taken on 15 July 2010 by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. The spacecraft was completing orbit 8363 of Mars and the ground resolution of the image is about 19 m per pixel. Fuente de imagen: ESA 
Schiaparelli is a large impact basin about 460 km across, located in the eastern Terra Meridiani region of the planet’s equator. The image shows just a small part of the basin’s northwestern rim cutting diagonally across the image and a smaller, 42 km-diameter, crater embedded in its rim. The image is centred on the equator of Mars, at a longitude of about 14°E. This image was created using a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) obtained from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft. Elevation data from the DTM are colour-coded: purple indicates the lowest-lying regions, and grey the highest elevations. The scale is in metres. Fuente de imagen: ESA
Durante la ‘Gran Oposición’ de 1877, en la que Marte se encontraba especialmente próximo a la Tierra, Schiaparelli cartografió la superficie de nuestro planeta vecino descubriendo una serie de líneas oscuras que surcaban su roja superficie. En su momento, Schiaparelli interpretó esta característica como cauces naturales de agua, por lo que utilizó la palabra italiana ‘canali’ para definirlos.
Sin embargo, otros astrónomos tradujeron la palabra como ‘canales’, en el sentido de vías de agua artificiales para el transporte y regadío, lo que rápidamente se convirtió en el rumor popular de que se habían descubierto estructuras creadas por ‘marcianos’.
Hoy en día sabemos que los ‘canali’ observados por Schiaparelli no son otra cosa que una ilusión óptica causada por la relativamente baja calidad de los telescopios de la época, y que no hay cauces de agua en Marte. No obstante, esta imagen aporta nuevas pruebas de que hace tiempo el agua sí fluyó por la superficie del Planeta Rojo, formando quizás un gran lago en el cráter Schiaparelli
Schiaparelli is a large impact basin about 460 km across, located in the eastern Terra Meridiani region of the planet’s equator. This perspective image from the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express is focused on a smaller 42 km-diameter crater embedded in its rim. The interior of the crater is filled with sediments. Fuente de imagen: ESA.Esta fotografía fue tomada el pasado día 15 de Julio de 2010 por la Cámara Estéreo de Alta Resolución de la sonda Mars Express de la ESA.
La imagen muestra una pequeña parte de la región noroeste de la cuenca de Schiaparelli, en la que se pueden apreciar el interior del cráter, su cresta y la llanura que lo rodea. Los sedimentos oscuros que se observan en el fondo del cráter evidencian la presencia de agua en el pasado, ya que presentan la misma morfología que se puede observar en el fondo de los lagos desecados en la Tierra.
El interior de Schiaparelli ha sufrido la acción de múltiples procesos geológicos: fragmentos de roca eyectados tras el impacto original dieron lugar a nuevos cráteres de menor tamaño, el flujo de lava originó las suaves llanuras de la región, y las corrientes de agua depositaron sedimentos que se pueden observar en el recuadro 1 de la imagen. En el fondo del cráter todavía se distingue la huella de impactos posteriores, rellenos de sedimentos.
Schiaparelli is a large impact basin about 460 km across located in the eastern Terra Meridiani region of the planet’s equator. This image taken by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express shows just a small part of the basin’s northwestern rim cutting diagonally across the image (bottom left–top right) and a smaller 42 km-diameter crater embedded in its rim. The interior of the crater is filled with sediments. Fuente de imagen: ESA
The interior of the Schiaparelli impact basin has been modified by multiple geological processes including the fall of ejecta blasted upwards by the initial impact, the flow of lava to create the smooth plains and watery sediments. Box 1 shows part of these sedimentary deposits. The sediments forming the smooth plains in Box 2 have been modified by erosion, either by wind or water, or both to form sharp contours such as the skinny plateau at bottom left. The prominent crater in Box 3 is 42 km across and is embedded in the inner basin rim of Schiaparelli. The interior of the crater is filled with sediments, which appear to form a terrace in the northern part and a delta-like structure near the centre. The image is centred on the equator of Mars, at a longitude of about 14°E, and was taken on 15 July 2010 by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on ESA’s Mars Express. The spacecraft was completing orbit 8363 of Mars. Fuente de imagen: ESA 
Schiaparelli is a large impact basin about 460 km across, located in the eastern Terra Meridiani region of the planet’s equator. The image shows just a small part of the basin’s northwestern rim cutting diagonally across the image and a smaller 42 km-diameter crater embedded in its rim. The image is centred on the equator of Mars, at a longitude of about 14°E. This image was derived from the nadir channel of the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express, which provides the highest detail of all channels. Fuente de imagen: ESA
Schiaparelli is a large impact basin about 460 km across, located in the eastern Terra Meridiani region of the planet’s equator. The image shows just a small part of the basin’s northwestern rim cutting diagonally across the image and a smaller 42 km diameter crater embedded in its rim. The image is centred on the equator of Mars, at about 14°E. It combines data from the nadir channel and one stereo channel of the High-Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express to produce this 3D image. Stereoscopic glasses are required to see the 3D effect. Fuente de imagen:ESA 
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