Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
Brain Crater on Mars
Explanation:
What caused this unusual looking crater floor on Mars? Appearing at first glance to resemble the human brain [ http://www.pbs.org/…], the natural phenomena that created the unusual texture on the floor of this Martian impact crater [ http://www.lpl.ariz…] are currently under investigation. The light colored region surrounding the brain-textured region is likely sand dunes [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] sculpted by winds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The Mars Global Surveyor [ http://mars.jpl.nas…] robot spacecraft that has been orbiting Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] since 1997 took the above image [ http://www.msss.com…]. Meanwhile, down on the surface, robots Spirit [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and Opportunity [ http://marsrovers.j…] continue to roll, inspecting landscape [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], rocks [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], and soil [ http://science.nasa…] for clues to the ancient watery past [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of the red planet [ http://www.nineplan…]. Humorously, this brain-terrain [ http://www.med.harv…] on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] spans about a kilometer, making it just about the right size [ http://badastronomy…] to fit inside the rock formation [ http://www.msss.com…] once dubbed the Face [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] on Mars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…].
Credit and Copyright:
Malin Space Science Systems [ http://www.msss.com/], MOC [ http://mpfwww.jpl.n…], MGS [ http://mars.jpl.nas…], JPL [ http://www.jpl.nasa…], NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Arizona
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Surveyor
facet_what:
Crater
facet_what:
Opportunity
facet_what:
Spirit
facet_what:
crater
facet_what:
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap040519

Brain Crater on Mars
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