18 September 2004
Apollinaris Patera is an ancient volcano located northwest of Gusev Crater, the landing site of the Mars Exploration Rover, Spirit. Apollinaris Patera, being rather old, is covered with craters, mantles of dust, and a wind-scoured covering of indurated, fine material. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a small portion of the Apollinaris Patera volcano, revealing the exhumation of older surfaces from beneath a relatively thin, wind-scoured material. This view is located on the upper south slope of the volcano, near 9.5°S, 186.4°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.