PIA07057: Inverted Channels of Aeolis
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
 Instrument:  Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
 Product Size:  672 x 2117 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-913
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA07057.tif (1.424 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA07057.jpg (307.3 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

17 November 2004
Mars was once a much wetter world than it is today. Locked within the martian bedrock are ancient channels and valleys through which liquids -- e.g., water -- once flowed. In the Aeolis region of Mars, wind erosion has exposed and inverted a plethora of ancient channels - stream beds -- in a fan-shaped sedimentary rock unit near 6.3°S, 208.6°W. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example. The smooth-looking, sinuous ridges that run left-right across the image are the inverted channels. The rugged, sharp-looking ridges that run nearly north-south (up-down) through the image are yardangs--ridges formed by wind erosion. The water (or other liquid) responsible for the original channels flowed from the left (west) to right/upper right (east/northeast). This scene covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across, and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-11-17