PIA13479: New Impact Crater
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Instrument:  HiRISE
 Product Size:  2560 x 1920 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  University of Arizona/HiRISE-LPL
 Other  
Information: 
Other products from image ESP_019195_2175
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA13479.tif (14.76 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA13479.jpg (1.291 MB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

The MRO Context camera team noticed a dark spot in an image taken in August 2010 that was not present in a Mars Odyssey THEMIS image taken in December 2007.

The team therefore requested a full-resolution HiRISE image of the dark spot to determine whether it was caused by an impact. Indeed, the HiRISE image shows an approximately 7-meter diameter fresh crater and dark ejecta blanket at this location. These small impact craters continue to form on Mars, and are most easily recognized in areas covered by bright dust.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

Originally released Oct. 6, 2010

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Image Addition Date:
2010-10-12