Happy Face Crater on Mars
Explanation:
Even
Mars can put on a happy face. The
Martian crater Galle has internal markings
reminiscent of a smiley face symbol.
Such markings were originally discovered
in the late 1970s in pictures taken by the
Viking Orbiter.
A large
meteor impacted the
Martian surface to form the
crater.
Conventional wisdom holds that the markings
inside the crater are placed by chance by natural processes.
The
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft currently orbiting
Mars took the
above picture. MGS recently started the
global surveying phase of its mission.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
