PIA04672: Gale Sedimentary Rocks


Gale Sedimentary Rocks

Caption:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-439, 1 August 2003

Gale Crater, located in the Aeolis region near 5.5°S, 222°W, contains a mound of layered sedimentary rock that stands higher than the rim of the crater. This giant mound suggests that the entire crater was not only once filled with sediment, it was also buried beneath sediment. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some of the eroded remains of the sedimentary rock that once filled Gale Crater. The layers form terraces; wind has eroded the material to form the tapered, pointed yardang ridges seen here. The small circular feature in the lower right quarter of the picture is a mesa that was once a small meteor impact crater that was filled, buried, then exhumed from within the sedimentary rock layers exposed here. This image is illuminated from the left.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Instrument Host Mars Global Surveyor
Host Type Orbiter
Instrument Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
Detector
Extra Keywords Crater, Grayscale, Impact
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2003-08-01
Date in Caption 2003-08-01
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04672
Identifier PIA04672