PIA04658: Layers in Crater Cluster
 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:  540 x 810 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04658.tif (438.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04658.jpg (77.89 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-431, 24 July 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cluster of old, small impact craters near 36.3°N, 281.9°W. The group of craters was probably formed by secondary impacts following a much larger impact that occurred some distance away; the material that created these craters would have been the ejecta from the larger crater, rather than meteoroids from outer space. The craters cluster is considered to be relatively old because none of the craters have ejecta blankets any more, and each was filled, or partially filled, with layered material that was later eroded to form the terraced mounds found in their floors. This picture is illuminated from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-07-24