>   HiROC   >   images   >   PSP   >   PSP_001410_2210

Impact Crater Filled With Layered Deposits

HiRISE Image PSP_001410_2210

This image shows an impact crater in Utopia Planitia, in the northern hemisphere of Mars, that is filled with layered material. The layered character of these deposits is consistent with episodic deposition. Each distinct layer represents a period of sediment deposition. The layers are parallel to each other, indicating that deposition occurred by material settling onto the surface, rather than being blown across the surface in sand dunes. The hummocky texture of these deposits suggests that volatiles (such as carbon dioxide ice) are mixed in with the rocky sediment.

Image PSP_001410_2210 was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft on November 14, 2006. The complete image is centered at 40.8 degrees latitude, 99.5 degrees East longitude. The range to the target site was 295.9 km (185.0 miles). At this distance the image scale ranges from 29.6 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 59.2 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning). The image shown here has been map-projected to 25 cm/pixel and north is up. The image was taken at a local Mars time of 3:22 PM and the scene is illuminated from the west with a solar incidence angle of 49 degrees, thus the sun was about 41 degrees above the horizon. At a solar longitude of 135.2 degrees, the season on Mars is Northern Summer.

Images from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at:

http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/

or

http://marsoweb.nas.nasa.gov/HiRISE/

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, 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.

Previous Image

Next Image

Image Product Pixel Dimensions File Size
Small JPG 512
x
783
128
KBytes
Large JPG 2048
x
3134
2.5
MBytes
Full-Scale JP2 28707
x
43935
465
MBytes
Products for PSP_001410_2210
Note

The highest resolution image is provided in the JPEG-2000 (JP2) format. A JP2 viewer application and browser plug-in may be freely obtained for Mac OS X and Windows platforms: ExpressView by LizardTech, a Celartem Technology Inc. company.

Learn more about HiRISE at these sites: