Diverse Minerals in Coprates Chasma

This image shows the southern wall of Coprates Chasma, in the equatorial canyon system of Valles Marineris. While much of the lower slopes are covered by sand, exposed bedrock is clearly visible in the upper canyon walls.

In an enhanced color image, the varying colors – shades of white, cyan, and purple – are suggestive of multiple minerals being present within the bedrock, indicating a complicated geologic history, possibly involving alteration by water. (In this cutout, north is down.)

The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 52.1 centimeters [20.5 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 156 centimeters [61.4 inches] across are resolved.) North is down.

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.