23 March 2004
Craters of the martian northern plains tend to be somewhat shallow because material has filled them in. Their ejecta blankets, too, are often covered by younger materials. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example--a crater in Utopia Planitia near 43.7°N, 227.3°W. Erosion has roughened some of the surfaces of the material that filled the crater and covered its ejecta deposit. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.