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PIA04672: Gale Sedimentary Rocks
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a mound of layered sedimentary rock that stands higher than the rim of Gale crater on Mars.
 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:  PIA04672.tif (438.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04672.jpg (96.6 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:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-439, 1 August 2003

Gale Crater, located in the Aeolis region near 5.5°S, 222°W, contains a mound of layered sedimentary rock that stands higher than the rim of the crater. This giant mound suggests that the entire crater was not only once filled with sediment, it was also buried beneath sediment. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some of the eroded remains of the sedimentary rock that once filled Gale Crater. The layers form terraces; wind has eroded the material to form the tapered, pointed yardang ridges seen here. The small circular feature in the lower right quarter of the picture is a mesa that was once a small meteor impact crater that was filled, buried, then exhumed from within the sedimentary rock layers exposed here. This image is illuminated from the left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-08-01