An image of a small crater on Mars was released by the European Space Agency (ESA) on February 10.

The image, taken on October 19, 2020, shows the southeast wall of a crater located "a few hundred kilometers to the north of the giant Hellas impact basin," according to the ESA. The whole crater is about 12 kilometers in diameter, and the image shows an area of about 500 square kilometers.

It also features light sediment, highlighting "the bedrock exposures of the area, which probably contain ancient clay-rich minerals that would have formed in the presence of water," said the ESA. The wind-blown sandy deposits are clearly visible, creating "ripples" at the bottom of the crater. The tan color indicates the presence of iron-oxide minerals.

The image was captured by the Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) on the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) of ExoMars – a program cooperated by the ESA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos to explore whether there has ever been life on the red planet.

The TGO was launched in March 2016 to search for evidence of trace atmospheric gases there, such as methane, which "could be signatures of active biological or geological processes," said the ESA. The other mission of the joint endeavor is slated for 2022, when a rover and surface science platform will be launched.