PIA08635: Northern Pancake
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a pedestal a 'pancake' or 'pedestal' crater on the martian northern plains. The rocky ejecta from the crater protected the underlying material from being stripped away by wind.
 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:  512 x 1152 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1540  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA08635.tif (590.6 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA08635.jpg (144.7 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 July 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a "pancake" or "pedestal" crater on the martian northern plains. The rocky ejecta from the crater protected the underlying material from being stripped away by wind, leaving the ejecta standing higher than the surrounding terrain. The rocks in the ejecta are not too clearly seen today, especially at the 6 meters (~20 feet) per pixel scale of this image, in part because they have been covered up by later, mantling material.

Location near: 60.0°N, 265.6°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-07-31