MARS SURFACE - Key Persons

Arabia Terra is a vast plateau directly opposite the Tharsis region on the other side of the planet. In the adjacent photo of the Mars Global Surveyor, Arabia Terra is visible as a large bright area on the Mars globe. The maximum extension of the plateau is about 5,000 kilometers, with the southern and eastern areas being about four kilometers higher than the northern and western areas. Arabia Terra was formed at least 3.9 billion years ago, making it one of the oldest large-scale landscapes on Mars. Due to its advanced age, the plateau is home to many craters of all sizes, which, together with other surface structures, were exposed to strong erosion processes over long periods of time. An exception to this is the crustal rocks, which are covered by the ejected material of the craters and are thus protected from erosion. Arabia Terra attracted a lot of attention in 2004 when the Mars Express probe registered an increased water vapor content in the atmosphere above the area. The dark region that projects somewhat into Arabia Terra to the southeast is Syrtis Major.