Waterworn chaos on Mars stretches the length of Italy

This month, ESA's Mars Express takes us to Shalbatana Vallis: a fascinating Martian valley surrounded by signs of water, lava, craters and chaos. Shalbatana Vallis is an impressive channel near Mars's equator. This image, taken by Mars Express's High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), captures the northern part of the channel, which weaves its way across Mars's surface for some 1,300 km—around the length of Italy.