10 February 2004
This full-resolution Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows details on the floor of an ancient meteor crater in the northeastern part of Noachis Terra. After the crater formed, layers of material--perhaps sediment--were deposited in the crater. These materials became somewhat solidified, but later were eroded to form the patterns shown here. Many windblown ripples in the scene indicate the presence of coarse-grained sediment that was not completely stripped away by wind. The picture is located near 22.1°S, 307.0°W. Sunlight illuminates this scene from the left/upper left; the image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide.