# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DNqbYlbs2dL
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/35582069-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/62db1e106a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-08-22T15:50:00.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** J.L.Lopez (@xandler80) — https://gondola.cc/xandler80

## Caption

Why does part of Mars look like it’s been smashed to pieces? 🔴

Mountains scattered like fallen chess pieces. Valleys plunging 2 km deep. A surface that looks broken apart. This is Hydraotes Chaos, one of Mars’ strangest landscapes.

So what tore the land apart?
Billions of years ago, water ice was trapped beneath the crust. As it heated and built up pressure, it burst through fissures with unstoppable force. The surface collapsed, leaving behind a maze of mesas and buttes that still puzzle scientists today.

Hydraotes Chaos spans 420 km across. It sits near the equator at the gateway to Valles Marineris, the Solar System’s largest canyon. The torrents of water released here likely carved huge outflow channels that once drained across Mars.

Thanks to our Mars Express spacecraft and its High Resolution Stereo Camera, we can orbit above this shattered terrain and even take a simulated flight over it.

Swipe through to see the details of Hydraotes Chaos.

📸 @europeanspaceagency / @germanaerospacecenter / @fu_berlin; @creativecommons BY-SA 3.0 IGO
📸 @NASA / MGS / MOLA

## Stats

- **Views:** 26,740
- **Likes:** 6,952
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 45

## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Producer |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Publisher |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |

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