PIA05795: Pit Chain on Olympus
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a chain of collapse pits on the lower northeast flank of the large martian volcano, Olympus Mons.
 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:  672 x 1008 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-703  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05795.tif (678.3 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05795.jpg (143.6 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:

21 April 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a chain of collapse pits on the lower northeast flank of the large martian volcano, Olympus Mons. For these to have formed, something in the subsurface must have been removed or changed volume, such as cooling lava within a subsurface lava tube or extension of the crust by faulting. These pits are located near 20.6°N, 129.4°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-04-21