Layered Mesa in Coprates Chasma
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Layered Mesa in Coprates Chasma
PSP_002036_1655  Science Theme: Sedimentary/Layering Processes
This observation shows a mesa within Coprates Chasma, a large trough in the Valles Marineris canyon system. Multiple layers, some only a few meters in thickness, are visible on the slopes descending from the edges of the flat-topped mesa.

The layered rocks could have formed from volcanic, lacustrine, or aeolian sediments that were deposited in portions of the Valles Marineris trough. Variations in the brightness of the layers may represent compositional differences. In particular, the slopes contain a prominent layer of dark material that is seemingly composed of materials more resistant to erosion than the overlying brighter layers.

Dunes and ripples can also visible on the top of the mesa.



Written by: Maria Banks  (4 April 2007)

This is a stereo pair with PSP_003104_1655.
 
Acquisition date
02 January 2007

Local Mars time
15:40

Latitude (centered)
-14.443°

Longitude (East)
304.163°

Spacecraft altitude
259.0 km (161.0 miles)

Original image scale range
from 25.9 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) to 51.8 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning)

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25 cm/pixel and North is up

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Equirectangular

Emission angle
2.3°

Phase angle
61.4°

Solar incidence angle
59°, with the Sun about 31° above the horizon

Solar longitude
160.0°, Northern Summer

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North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  25.3°
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POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.