Daedalia Planum is a plain on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

located south of

Arsia Mons Arsia Mons is the southernmost of three volcanoes (collectively known as Tharsis Montes) on the Tharsis bulge near the equator of the planet Mars. To its north is Pavonis Mons, and north of that is Ascraeus Mons. The tallest volcano in the So ...

at and appears to be relatively featureless plain with multiple lava flows and small craters. It is mostly in the

Memnonia quadrangle The Memnonia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Memnonia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-16 (Mars Chart-16). The quadrangle is ...

, but parts are in

Tharsis quadrangle The Tharsis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Tharsis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-9 (Mars Chart-9). The name Tharsis refe ...

and

Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle The Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-17 (Mars Chart-17). P ...

. Modern imagery suggests that it may more accurately be called a "

fluctus ''Fluctus'' is a small genus of east Asian Corinnidae, corinnid sac spiders. It was first described by C. Jin and F. Zhang in 2020, and it has only been found in China. it contains only two species: ''Fluctus bannaensis, F. bannaensis'' and ''Fl ...

" rather than a "

planum In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

". There is evidence that an ancient 4500 km-diameter

impact basin An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters ...

formed in the

Noachian The Noachian is a geologic system and early time period on the planet Mars characterized by high rates of meteorite and asteroid impacts and the possible presence of abundant surface water. The absolute age of the Noachian period is uncerta ...

epoch may be centered in Daedalia Planum. Wikimolaargyre.jpg, MOLA map showing boundaries of Daedalia Planum and other regions. Colors show elevations. ESP 035848 1510memnoniacraterlayers.jpg, Layers in crater wall, as seen by HiRISE under

HiWish program HiWish is a program created by NASA so that anyone can suggest a place for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph. It was started in January 2010. In the first few months of the program 3000 people signed up to use HiRIS ...

ESP 039673 1705layeredbuttes.jpg, Layers exposed at the base of a group of buttes in

Mangala Valles The Mangala Valles are a complex system of criss-crossing channels on Mars, located in the Tharsis region and in the Memnonia quadrangle. They originated in the Hesperian and Amazonian epochs. They are thought to be an outflow channel system, car ...

, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Arrows point to boulders sitting in pits. The pits may have formed by winds, heat from the boulders melting ground ice, or some other process.

References

Plains on Mars Memnonia quadrangle Tharsis quadrangle Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle {{Mars-stub