This crater with spectacular ejecta is located in the northern mid-latitudes in the Deuteronilus Mensae, located near the dichotomy boundary, where the southern highlands transition into the northern lowlands.

The crater has raised, fluidized ejecta. Scientists think that fluidized ejecta forms when an impact occurs into ice-rich material. The interior of the crater shows some material, particularly on the west wall, that has detached and is flowing into the crater center. This suggests the presence of ground ice.


Written by: Kelly Kolb

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For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.