PIA02896: Craters and Layers
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows some typical relations between impact craters and light-toned, layered rock on Mars. The larger circular feature marks the location of a filled, buried crater on intermountain terrain north of Hellas Planitia.
 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:  1024 x 1812 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1398  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA02896.tif (1.858 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA02896.jpg (193.5 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:

11 March 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some typical relations between impact craters and light-toned, layered rock on Mars. The larger circular feature at the north (top) end of the image marks the location of a filled, buried crater on intermountain terrain north of Hellas Planitia. The larger crater at the southeast (lower right) corner formed by meteor impact into the layered material in which the buried crater is encased. The layered rock, in this case, has a light tone similar to the sedimentary rocks being explored by the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity, thousands of kilometers away in Sinus Meridiani.

Location near: 24.9°S, 299.3°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-03-11