Friday, December 17, 2010

Udzha Crater


Although it is 45 kilometers (28 miles) wide, countless layers of ice and dust have all but buried Udzha Crater. Udzha lies near the edge of the northern polar cap, and only the topmost edges of its crater rim rise above the polar deposits to hint at its circular shape.

The image was taken by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter and posted in a special December 2010 set marking the occasion of Odyssey becoming the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history. The pictured location on Mars is 81.8 degrees north latitude, 77.2 degrees east longitude.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Note: Udzha Crater is located within the Planum Boreum ice sheet, in the Gemini Scopuli region.

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