{{Short description|Martian geographical feature}} {{Infobox feature on celestial object |name = Ausonia Mensa |image = [[Image:Ausonia Mensa.JPG|200px]] |caption = Ausonia Mensa, as seen by [[Mars Global Surveyor|MGS]]. This eroded mensa has many channels. |coordinates = {{coord|30.3|S|262.3|W|globe:mars_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |diameter = {{cvt|103|km}} }}
'''Ausonia Mensa''' is a [[Mensa (geology)|mensa]] in the [[Hellas quadrangle]] of Mars, located at 30.3° S and 262.3° W. It is {{cvt|103|km}} across and was named after an [[albedo]] feature name.<ref>{{gpn|481}}</ref> The term "mensa" is used for a flat-topped prominence with cliff-like edges.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms |title=Descriptor Terms (Feature Types) |work=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature |author=International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN) |publisher=US Geological Survey |access-date=21 January 2021}}</ref> Ausonia Mensa has many small channels. Some features look like [[Alluvial fan|alluvial fans]]. These channels add to the mass of evidence that water once flowed on Mars.<ref>Baker, V., et al. 2015. "Fluvial geomorphology on Earth-like planetary surfaces: a review". ''Geomorphology''. 245, 149–182.</ref><ref>Carr, M. 1996. in ''Water on Mars''. Oxford Univ. Press.</ref> Images of curved channels have been seen in images from Mars spacecraft dating back to the early 1970s with the [[Mariner 9]] orbiter.<ref>Baker, V. 1982. ''The Channels of Mars''. Univ. of Tex. Press, Austin, TX </ref><ref> Baker, V., R. Strom, R., V. Gulick, J. Kargel, G. Komatsu, V. Kale. 1991. "Ancient oceans, ice sheets and the hydrological cycle on Mars". ''Nature'' 352, 589–594.</ref><ref> Carr, M. 1979. "Formation of Martian flood features by release of water from confined aquifers". ''J. Geophys. Res.'' 84, 2995–300.</ref><ref>Komar, P. 1979. "Comparisons of the hydraulics of water flows in Martian outflow channels with flows of similar scale on Earth". ''Icarus'' 37, 156–181.</ref>
<gallery widths="260px" heights="230px"> Image:25897ausoniachannel.jpg|Channel in Ausonia Mensa, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
</gallery>
==See also== {{commonscat|Ausonia Mensa}} * [[HiRISE]] * [[HiWish program]] * [[Mars Global Surveyor|MGS]] * [[Valley networks (Mars)]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Geography of Mars}}
[[Category:Hellas quadrangle]] [[Category:Mensae on Mars]]
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