The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft has captured images showing new dark lines on the slopes of Mars’ Mons Apollinaris, the result of a dust avalanche that occurred the night before Christmas 2023. The images also show a group of small impact craters and a network of dark lines at the base of the slope, indicating surface processes that are still controversial.

These phenomena are known as recurring slope lines, and have sparked researchers’ curiosity about their nature. Some scientists link their appearance to the presence of flowing salt water, while others attribute the cause to the movement of dry sand driven by winds and temperature fluctuations. New images have supported the second hypothesis, as they show dust masses actually sliding downward, leaving clear traces on the slopes.

To understand the mechanism of formation of these lines, astronomers from the University of Bern used machine learning techniques to analyze than two million images taken by the orbital reconnaissance vehicle over 18 years. The results showed that most of the lines are formed by wind, dust and sand, while only a small percentage are associated with meteorite impacts or Martian earthquakes. These phenomena are concentrated in five areas that researchers call “hot spots,” where surface features are constantly changing due to winds and temperatures, and dust is observed creeping into dry streams that reshape the surface.

Researchers from the European Space Agency confirm that these observations are important for future missions, because they show that Mars is still an active planet, as a thin layer of dust reveals details of its climate and history. Nine active missions from five space agencies continue to collect data, paving the way for future missions that may launch in the middle of this century.

Source: science.mail.ru