Une vallée martienne révèle des indices sur un ancien océan et des inondations

Une vaste vallée sur Mars offre de nouvelles preuves que la planète a autrefois abrité de grandes étendues d'eau. Shalbatana Vallis s'étend sur environ 1 300 kilomètres près de l'équateur et présente des signes d'inondations souterraines puissantes survenues il y a des milliards d'années.

La sonde Mars Express de l'Agence spatiale européenne a capturé de nouvelles images de la section nord de la vallée. Ces vues mettent en évidence des canaux profonds creusés par d'anciennes inondations, des terrains effondrés et des dépôts de cendres volcaniques. Le canal principal mesure environ 10 kilomètres de large et jusqu'à 500 mètres de profondeur par endroits.

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