This new perspective view of the rim of Crater Huygens was taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter.

This close-up view shows the heavily eroded crater rim, and part of the basin that has been subsequently filled by sediments transported into the crater.

The crater rim shows a ‘dendritic’ pattern. This observation suggests surface water run-off, said scientists associated with the spacecraft. The valley system is blanketed by dark material, which was either transported by a fluid running through the channels or by wind-driven processes.

The image was taken June 20 and released yesterday. The region is centered around longitude 61° East and latitude 14° South.

Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)