Three recently discovered craters on the surface of Mars have been named for renowned cosmic ray physicist late Devendra Lal and the towns of Mursan and Hilsa in northern India.
While the discovery was made by a team of scientists which included researchers working at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad in 2021, the naming was approved by an international body earlier this month.
The three craters are situated in the Tharsis volcanic region of the Red Planet, said the Ahmedabad-based PRL, a unit of the department of space of the government of India, in a release on Wednesday.
Tharsis is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in the western hemisphere of Mars.
The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System.
On the recommendation of the PRL, the International Astronomical Union Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature on June 5 approved naming the craters as "Lal" crater, "Mursan" crater and "Hilsa" crater, PRL director Anil Bhardwaj said in the release.
Mursan and Hilsa are the names of towns located in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, respectively. -- PTI