Craters in Meridiani

Following the successful first Martian year of observations by the Odyssey spacecraft, several weeks of the Image of the Day looked back over this first successful year and focused on four themes: 1) the poles - with the seasonal changes seen in the retreat and expansion of the caps; 2) craters - with a variety of morphologies relating to impact materials and later alteration, both infilling and exhumation; 3) channels - the clues to liquid surface flow; and 4) volcanic flow features. While some images have helped answer questions about the history of Mars, many have raised new questions that are still being investigated as Odyssey continues collecting data as it orbits Mars.
This daytime VIS image was collected on October 19, 2002 during the northern spring season. The three craters represent possibly three different ages of craters, the youngest being the crater in the lower left which contains dunes.