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PIA06803: Ridged Layer Outcrop
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a strange ridged pattern developed in an eroding layer of material on the floor of a Labyrinthus Noctis depression in the Valles Marineris system 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:  836 x 1254 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-819  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06803.tif (1.05 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06803.jpg (256.8 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:

15 August 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a strange ridged pattern developed in an eroding layer of material on the floor of a Labyrinthus Noctis depression in the Valles Marineris system. The ridges bear some resemblance to ripple-like dunes seen elsewhere on Mars, but they are linked to the erosion of a specific layer of material--i.e., something in the rock record of Mars. Similar ridged textures are found in eroded dark-toned mantling layers in regions as far away as northern Sinus Meridiani and Mawrth Vallis. The explanation for these landforms is as elusive as this image is evocative. The image is located near 8.2°S, 93.6°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-08-15