Hephaestus Fossae

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

This VIS image shows part of Hephaestus Fossae. Hephaestus Fossae is a complex channel system in Utopia Planitia near Elysium Mons. It has been proposed that the channel formed by the release of melted subsurface ice during an impact event. Additionally, the nearby Elysium volcanic center created subsurface heating that may have played a part in creating both Hephaestus Fossae and Hebrus Valles to the north. Hephaestus Fossae is 633km long (393 miles).

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

Context

Latitude: 19.2519

Longitude: 124.662

Orbit Number: 104079

Captured: 2025-06-01 03:42

Posted to Web: Tue, 2026-03-03

Instrument: VIS

Image Width: 512 pixels (19 km)

Image Height: 1824 pixels (67 km)

Vertical Resolution: 0.037002 km/pixel

Horizontal Resolution: 0.0375467 km/pixel

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