NASA's HiRISE camera spots odd-shaped impact crater on Mars

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spotted an impact crater on the Red Planet, but it isn't round as most impact craters are.

The odd-shaped impact crater was spotted by HiRISE in Noachis Terra, one of the extensive land masses (Terrae) on Mars, in January 2022. NASA shared the picture of the odd-shaped impact crater on Monday, April 18, 2022.

What could have caused this odd shape?

According to Shane Byrne of the University of Arizona, large blocks of material in the northeast and northwest corners look like they have slid into the crater. These collapses have extended the crater in those directions giving it an oblong appearance.

More details about the new impact crater can be found here.

HiPOD: A Fresh Impact Crater with an Odd ShapeThis odd-shaped hole in Noachis Terra is clearly in impact crater. It has the characteristic raised rim that distinguishes it from pits that have simply collapsed. https://t.co/YwLwR8Zh9QNASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona#Mars #science pic.twitter.com/mkuc1FlaSy

— HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) (@HiRISE) April 18, 2022

HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, the main objective of the HiRISE camera is to study active surface processes and landscape evolution. It operates in visible wavelengths, the same as human eyes, and produces high-resolution images that enable scientists to distinguish 1-meter-size objects on Mars and to study morphology in a much more comprehensive manner than ever before.

Now in an extended mission, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been providing new information in unprecedented detail about the surface, subsurface, the planet's ancient environments and about how processes such as wind, meteorite impacts and seasonal frosts are continuing to affect the Martian surface today.

The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.