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This kind of broad view instrument paired with a detailed, close-up camera, is reminiscent of more down-to-Earth setups that Universe Today readers may already be familiar with. CTX can, in some ways, be thought of as a kind of finder scope like that seen on a telescope. An amateur astronomer would first use their finder scope to aim in a broad area of interest and locate a specific portion of the sky to then probe deeply with the much narrower view provided by the main telescope, or in this case, HiRISE.

By collecting broad, big-picture views, and simultaneously taking astonishingly high-resolution, close-up looks, we are gaining a better sense of the structure of Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris, and the overall geological processes and deep history of Mars. Unlike the Arizonan

canyon, Valles Mariners was not formed by surface river erosion.

Which geological process could be behind the formation of the largest canyon known to humankind? Is it a dry process like the depression of a chunk of crust along parallel faults known as a graben? Another possible explanation for the formation of some features is the dissolution of rocks by subsurface water in what geologists call karst.

The watery past of Mars is a big part of what makes it such a fascinating planet to study. The Mars Perseverance Rover, already on the way and slated to land in mid-February 2021, will be landing on what is thought to be shore of an ancient Martian ocean. Large bodies of liquid water are very rare outside of the Earth, and are thought to be a necessary ingredient for the rise of living things. It goes without saying that finding evidence of life on another planet, even if it has since gone extinct, would be as impactful a scientific discovery as is possible.