NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds New Impact Crater on the Red Planet

A rock crashed into Mars sometime between July and September of 2018 and left quite the mark near the planet’s south pole.

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured a view of that impact crater and the explosive signature it left on the icy landscape.

Ross Beyer, a planetary scientist for NASA said of the image released on Tuesday that it’s notable since it happened in the seasonal southern ice cap, and has seemingly punched through it, creating a two-toned blast pattern.

When a meteoroid or other space-faring rock collides with Mars it causes an impact crater.

Beyer also said that the larger, lighter-coloured blast area could be a result of winds scouring the surface from the impact shockwave, while the inner pattern is where the impact disturbed the dark sand from underneath the ice layer.

The MRO has been in orbit around Mars since 2006. It’s on a mission to take pictures of the planet and look for proof that water may have once existed on the surface.

This newest impact crater is one in a long line of intriguing Mars observations from the MRO, which has covered everything from a Pac-Man-like crater to interesting “spider” formations.

Photo credit: NASA

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