Hephaestus Fossae

Image Credit: NASA/JPL/ASU

About this image

This VIS image shows the southern end 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: 17.3361

Longitude: 126.98

Orbit Number: 104915

Captured: 2025-08-08 23:44

Posted to Web: Thu, 2026-05-28

Instrument: VIS

Image Width: 512 pixels (19 km)

Image Height: 1824 pixels (67 km)

Vertical Resolution: 0.03695 km/pixel

Horizontal Resolution: 0.0373213 km/pixel

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