This recent Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera image shows mesas and smaller buttes that occur on the Elysium Plains, approximately 185 miles south of the Cerberus region in the Martian eastern hemisphere. The uneroded rock forms a flat upland at the top of the image. The number of mesas and buttes decreases toward the bottom of the image, but their presence indicates that the rock in which they formed was once more extensive and covered the entire scene.
Small dunes form parallel ridges on the lowland between many of the mesas near the top of the image.
Next Launch A Lockheed Martin Athena 1 will launch the Kodiak Star mission for NASA and the Air Force no sooner than Saturday from Kodiak Island, Alaska. Visit the Tracking Station for a full listing of upcoming launches.