The largest canyon in the solar system is on Mars. Valles Marineris is the Grand Canyon of Mars and dwarfs its counterpart on Earth. Orbiting spacecraft have photographed it in great detail, but no mission has yet visited it on the ground. But that might be about to change. The German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) in Bonn, Germany, is developing an ambitious mission concept called Valles Marineris Explorer, or VaMEx. It involves a swarm of robotic drones that can drive, walk and fly, the researchers said on September 10, 2024. It would explore the sprawling canyon and caves within it.
Interestingly, the mission would also include a UAP camera, named for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. That term has, in recent years, replaced the acronym UFO in government-speak of several nations. It’s been used to describe any unusual phenomena seen in Earth’s atmosphere, or oceans. The UAP camera would be stationary. It would watch Mars’ sky continuously. It would keep an eye out for anything unusual. More about it below.
To read more, click here.