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PIA08045: The Edge
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the edge of a trough, which is part of a large pit crater complex in Noachis Terra on Mars. This type of trough forms through the collapse of surface materials into the subsurface, beginning as individual pit craters.
 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 1863 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1424  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA08045.tif (1.559 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA08045.jpg (253.6 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:

6 April 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the edge (running diagonally from the lower left to the upper right) of a trough, which is part of a large pit crater complex in Noachis Terra. This type of trough forms through the collapse of surface materials into the subsurface, and often begins as a series of individual pit craters. Over time, continued collapse increases the diameter of individual pits until finally, adjacent pits merge to form a trough such as the one captured in this image. The deep shadowed area is caused in part by an overhang; layered rock beneath this overhang is less resistant to erosion, and thus has retreated tens of meters backward, beneath the overhang. A person could walk up inside this "cave" formed by the overhanging layered material.

Location near: 47.0°S, 355.7°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-04-06