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PIA07304: Chryse "Alien Head"
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows an impact crater in Chryse Planitia resemblling a bug-eyed head. Two odd depressions at the north end of the crater (the 'eyes') may have formed by wind or water erosion.
 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:  712 x 935 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-983  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA07304.tif (666.6 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA07304.jpg (186.1 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:

26 January 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an impact crater in Chryse Planitia, not too far from the Viking 1 lander site, that to seems to resemble a bug-eyed head. The two odd depressions at the north end of the crater (the "eyes") may have formed by wind or water erosion. This region has been modified by both processes, with water action occurring in the distant past via floods that poured across western Chryse Planitia from Maja Valles, and wind action common occurrence in more recent history. This crater is located near 22.5°N, 47.9°W. The 150 meter scale bar is about 164 yards long. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-01-26