I’LL BE THERE AT

YOUR LOWEST LOWS

By: Mark Vincent Cabacungan
The solar system houses very interesting geological features. Among the
record holders of awesome features is the Red Planet－Mars. One of which is
the highest volcano in the solar system, the Olympus Mons and another is the
one of the considered lowest point in the solar system － Valles Marineris.
According to Redd (2017), Valles Marineris is a system of canyons that spans
2,500 miles, with a width of 125 miles, and some of its regions can reach a
depth of 6 miles.

Valles Marineris got its name from the Mariner 9, which happened to first study the structure of Mars when
it came to the planet in 1971 (Greshko, 2019). In an article written by Carr (2020), he stated that the canyons
extend in an east-west direction just south of the planet’s equator, located about 30˚ to 90˚ west. Some of the
walls of the canyons appear to have fault scraps as a result of crustal movements along faults radiating from the
Tharsis rise. The canyon begins in the Noctis Labyrinthus on the west edge. Two parallel chasmata, Ius and
Tithonium stretched eastward. Moreover, three more chasmata, Melas, Candor, and Ophir, are connected on the
east side of the feature (Redd, 2017).

Historically speaking, anent to the article of Redd (2017), she stressed that
there are lots of theories on how the Valles Marineris was formed. Others said
that erosion during a water-rich past and the withdrawal of subsurface magma
were both the early possibilities. Yet, today, the most widely accepted theory of
the features formation is based from the Tharsis region. As the molten rocks
push through the volcanic region to form volcanoes, the crust seem to move
upward which then created cracks leading to fault and fracture formation on the
surface of the planet. These cracks open up pathways for subsurface water to
escape. The water system, then, washed away some potion of the ground. Series
of flooding was theorized to had happened but there is not such calculated time
and span on how long the flooding had occurred.
With the continuing probes and missions sent into Mars, there Valles Marineris will be one of the subjects
for future explorations in order to study more of the possible occurrence of life on the planet. Due to the theories
that claimed for the possibility of water system in the subsurface of the water before, the Valles Marineris could
help prove that somehow, the planet have inhabitants way back the earlier days (Redd, 2017).

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 In a study made by Chojnacki and Hynek (2008), it was stated that one of the possible impacts to humanity
of the current space studies of the Valles Marineris is to gather data for the possible existence of life on the
planet. Basically, there are traces of water-altered minerals on the layered deposits on the canyons. Test objects
like hematite and sulfites which were retrieved from the location were subjected for further studies to seek for
possible justifications of the claim. This would enrich as well our understanding of how the entire planet was
created and how such geological features of the planet were able to come into place.
Initially, missions and rovers sent to Mars have been successful in
their aim to provide a picturesque view of the entire planet. But, in the
following years and decades to come, these missions that will be send to
the planet will be very vital to supplement the first ones. That would
include future studies on the Valles Marineris. Although we were already
able to unmasked the historical background and structural features of the
geological canyon, it is still worth to say that we still need to gather
enough data to unfold the mystery of its creation. Equally important, the
traces of water and other minerals on the canyon will still be the main
point of frame for future studies. More so, according to Chojnacki and
Hynek (2008), the samples found on the canyon paved way to more
studies related to the presence of early astrobiological features on Mars as
a whole. Thus, it would be of great importance to still continue pursuing
to study the Valles Marineris.

REFERENCES:
Carr, M. H. (2020, January 9). Valles Marineris. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Valles-Marineris
Chojnacki, M. & Hynek, B. M. (2008, December 9). Geological context of water-altered minerals in Valles
Marineris, Mars. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JE003070
Greshko, M. (2019). Planet Mar, explained. National Geographic. Retrieved from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/mars-1
Redd, N. T. (2017). Valles Marineris: Facts about the grand canyon on Mars. Retrieved from
https://www.space.com/20446-valles-marineris.html

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