PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA08502: Mellish Pedestal
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a pedestal crater superposed on the floor of the much larger Mellish Crater. When an impact crater of this type forms, material is thrown onto the adjacent terrain to form portions of the ejecta blanket.
 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 1062 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1479  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA08502.tif (714.6 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA08502.jpg (93.36 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:

31 May 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a pedestal crater superposed on the floor of the much larger Mellish Crater. When an impact crater of this type forms, material is thrown onto the adjacent terrain to form portions of the ejecta blanket we see today. If the ejecta blanket is sufficiently rocky, it will protect the underlying terrain from wind erosion. Over time, much of the exposed material surrounding the ejecta blanket will be removed by wind, leaving behind the rocky ejecta and the material below it, resulting in the pedestal-like appearance seen here.

Location near: 73.0°S, 22.7°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:
2006-05-31