PIA07148: Meridiani Bedrock
 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:  836 x 2562 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-949
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA07148.tif (2.144 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA07148.jpg (477.2 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

23 December 2004
The Mars Exploration Rover (MER-B), Opportunity, spent much of this year exploring outcrops of light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock that occur just beneath the dark plains of Sinus Meridiani. To access these rocks, the rover had to look at the walls and rims of impact craters. Further to the north and east of where the rover landed, similar rocks outcrop at the surface -- in other words, they are not covered by dark sand and granules as they are at the rover site. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example from eastern Sinus Meridiani. All of the light-toned surfaces in this image are outcrops of ancient sedimentary rock. Similar rocks probably occur beneath the low albedo (dark) materials that mantle the lower-elevation surfaces in this area. This picture is located near 0.5°S, 356.7°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-12-23