PIA08662: Chain Gang
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a chain of clustered and battered craters. These were formed by secondary impact.
 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 1410 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1546  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA08662.tif (948.7 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA08662.jpg (166.1 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 August 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a chain of clustered and battered craters. These were formed by secondary impact. That is, somewhere to the south (beyond the bottom of this image), a large impact crater formed. When this occurred, material ejected from the crater was thrown tens to hundreds of kilometers away. This material then impacted the martian surface, forming clusters and chains of smaller craters.

Location near: 15.8°N, 35.6°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Northern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-08-06