Published May 4, 2026
| Version v1
Drawing
Open
Atlas of Martian Geography: MC-28
Authors/Creators
Description
MC-28, titled Hellas, is the twenty-eighth sectional chart in the Atlas of Martian Geography, the visual companion to the Encyclopedia of Martian Geography (Thomas Gangale, JSD).
This high-resolution map covers the Hellas quadrangle of Mars (approximately 30°–65° S latitude, 60°–120° E longitude / 240°–300° W), rendered using USGS Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MGS MOLA) global color shaded relief data at ~463 m/pixel resolution.
Key scholarly features include:
This chart is distributed open-access (e.g., via Zenodo or similar platforms), alongside the encyclopedia text and other charts in the series. Citation recommended: Gangale, T. (2026). Atlas of Martian Geography: MC-28 Hellas.
academia.edu
en.wikipedia.org
- Precise overlays of revived classical albedo nomenclature from 19th- and early 20th-century telescopic observations (e.g., by Giovanni Schiaparelli and others), integrating historical names alongside modern IAU Gazetteer usage.
- Prominent depiction of the eastern portion of the Hellas impact basin—the largest well-preserved impact structure on Mars and one of the deepest depressions in the Solar System—with Hellas Planitia as its floor, reaching the planet’s lowest elevations (around –8,200 m in features like Badwater crater).
cambridge.org
- Surrounding highlands including Promethei Terra, volcanic constructs such as Amphitrites Patera and Hadriaca Patera, and outflow channels like Dao Vallis, Niger Vallis, Harmakhis Vallis, and Reull Vallis that once fed into the basin.
en.wikipedia.org
- Evidence of past aqueous and glacial activity, including potential ancient lake shorelines, lobate debris aprons, and ice-related features.
en.wikipedia.org
academia.edu