Mangalyaan sends back stunning 3D images of Mars

Bengaluru, Aug 17: Mangalyaan, India's Mars Orbiter Mission, has sent home stunning three-dimensional images of the Red Planet's Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system.

The images taken by Mars Colour Camera (MCC) onboard Mangalyaan reflects the Ophir Chasma terrain, part of the Valles Marineris.

The word chasma has been designated by the International Astronomical Union to refer to an elongate, steep-sided depression.

The walls of the chasma contain many layers and the floors contain large deposits of layered materials.

This images were taken on July 19, 2015 at an altitude of 1, 857 km, the Indian Space Research organisation said in a statement.

Five active spacecrafts are now orbiting the Red Planet, including Mangalyaan from India.

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) and India's Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) joined the 2003 Mars Express from ESA (the European Space Agency) and two from NASA -- the 2001 Mars Odyssey and the 2006 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

IANS