NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Captures New Crater

NASA never fails to impress space enthusiasts. The space agency recently released a stunning image of a fresh crater on the Martian surface that was captured by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The image of the Martian crater that is about 100 feet in diameter was captured by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera placed on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Every year the Red Planet is hit by over 200 space rocks. The impact occurred between July 2010 and May 2012. The new image was captured Nov.19, 2013. This impact ejected debris as far as about 9.3 miles away.

NASA explains: "The image displays a large, rayed blast zone and far flung secondary material around an approximately 30 meter-diameter crater, indicating a large explosion threw debris as far as 15 kilometers in distance. Because the terrain where the crater formed is dusty, the fresh crater appears blue in the enhanced color due to the lack of reddish dust."

The scientists hope to derive more information on the impact by studying the distribution of ejecta around the crater.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is a multipurpose spacecraft that was launched August 12, 2005 from Cape Canaveral. It was launched to trace evidence of water on the Martian surface.

The 65 kg HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tuscon. The $40 million instrument has a 0.5 m aperture reflecting telescope that takes images of the Red Planet with 0.3m pixel resolution.