This HiRISE image shows a new impact site within a crevice in Fortuna Fossae, east of the Tharsis Quadrangle. There are five distinct craters that were created nearly simultaneously, indicating the meteorite broke up into 5 different pieces just prior to hitting the surface. This likely happened because the object was a loosely held aggregate of material that broke apart when put under pressure by the Martian atmosphere. Each of the craters has a dark distinctive ejecta pattern surrounding it.
Scientists estimate that the impact was created sometime between September 2005 and May 2008. Click on the image to see the original high definition image. [See the original HiRISE caption]
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