This image shows several mesa-like features in the Noachis Terra region of Mars. A mesa is a steep-sided, flat-topped mountain or hill. While the larger features in this image are elevated areas of land surrounded by cliffs, the smaller “mesas” seem to be saucer-shaped in that the interiors of the mesas are at a lower elevation than the surrounding cliffs.

The saucer-like shape of these features is unusual and begs the question of how they formed, and it’s not apparent from this single image. The HiRISE team plans to acquire a second picture to provide stereo coverage, from which we can create a 3D digital elevation model. This elevation model may help us figure out how these strange mesas formed.

ID: ESP_086811_1615
date: 1 February 2025
altitude: 261 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_086811_1615
NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
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