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South Polar Crater

Aug. 14, 2004
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a small meteor impact crater in Mars' south polar layered terrain. A layer of material, several meters thick, has been stripped away since the time the crater formed.

14 August 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a small, 280-meter (~919 feet)-diameter meteor impact crater in south polar layered terrain. The ejecta from the crater today stands somewhat higher than the surrounding terrain, suggesting that, at the time the impact occurred, the surface was several meters higher than it is today. A layer of material, several meters thick, has been stripped away since the time the crater formed. The image is located near 86.3°S, 113.0°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

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