Two faces of Mars, one breathtaking view 🔴 Our Mars Express has done it again capturing an incredible snapshot of the Acheron Fossae region that reveals Mars as you’ve never seen it before: rugged and wrinkled on one side, smooth and sleek on the other. What’s going on here? This patch of the Red Planet has been shaped by ancient volcanic forces and shifting crust. Those long ditches on the right? They’re known as grabens – formed nearly four billion years ago when Mars’s surface was stretched, fractured, and blocks of ground collapsed. Think of them as the planet’s tectonic stretch marks. Just out of frame are Olympus Mons (the tallest volcano on Mars!) to the south, and Alba Mons to the north-east, both of which helped sculpt this striking landscape. In the centre, we can spot rock glaciers — yes, glaciers made of ice and rock — that once flowed away from the cliffs, leaving behind graceful, wave-like patterns. These smoother, younger plains were later resurfaced by lava, which ...