Loire Valles (Mars)

Data as of 2026-10-23

What it is

Type
Vallis, valles
IAU definition

Valley

Diameter
790 km, 23 % of the radius of its body
Centre
17.69° S, 342.97° east (planetocentric latitude, east longitude from 0 to 360°, the IAU convention)
Name adopted
1982
Origin of the name

Modern river in France.

Quoted in English, as the IAU publishes it.

In Galaxy

See it in Galaxy

Opens its body in the application, the camera turned towards Loire Valles.

Observed by

Instruments whose footprint touches this formation, counted by the PDS Orbital Data Explorer (data frozen on September 29, 2026). A footprint that touches it is not a study of it.

Observed by
Mission and instrumentProductsFirstLast
Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter434September 15, 1997June 30, 2001
Mars Global Surveyor · Mars Orbiter Camera6,222October 29, 1997October 17, 2006
2001 Mars Odyssey Orbiter · Thermal Emission Imaging System13,740February 20, 2002November 26, 2025
ESA's Mars Express · Planetary Fourier Spectrometer1,178April 5, 2004December 24, 2018
ESA's Mars Express · Observatoire Mineralogie, Eau, Glaces, Activite936April 30, 2004January 8, 2024
ESA's Mars Express · High Resolution Stereo Camera412May 15, 2004April 28, 2022
ESA's Mars Express · Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionsphere Sounding2,309July 6, 2005April 7, 2022
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars9,626November 21, 2006May 4, 2022
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment618December 3, 2006July 7, 2026
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Context Camera559December 24, 2006May 18, 2026
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter · Shallow Radar1,420April 1, 2008October 29, 2025
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter · Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System1,210April 30, 2018December 17, 2024
Viking Orbiter 1 and 2 · Visual Imaging Subsystem Camera A/B526no date publishedno date published

Sources

International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature, Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature, read on October 23, 2026. Feature page: https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3455

Type definitions: IAU Descriptor Terms, read on October 17, 2026. https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/DescriptorTerms

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