NASA's HiRISE camera snaps this unusual crater on Mars | See pic

Mars, or the Red Planet, is home to thousands of impact craters, which are caused by asteroids and comets crashing into the planet's surface. These craters range in size from a few meters to hundreds of kilometres in diameter.

Small impact craters usually have a simple bowl shape, but sometimes more complex shapes can form if the target is atypical. This image by NASA's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), a camera aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), shows a crater with a wide, flat bench, or terrace, between the outer rim and the inner section, making it look like a bullseye.

According to the HiRISE team, this type of shape can form if underground material changes from weak to strong. The terrace level indicates where this change occurs. In the area of this observation, there is evidence that the upper material is mostly ice. Craters with terraces like this one can tell us how thick the ice is, as the terrace formation indicates where the ice meets the underlying rock.

HiPOD: Craters in an Icy SurfaceSmall impact craters usually have simple bowl shapes, but sometimes more complicated shapes can occur if the target is unusual. https://t.co/CbpvsaeJ1ANASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona#Mars #science #NASA pic.twitter.com/PdMTQNe9ot

— HiRISE: Beautiful Mars (NASA) (@HiRISE) January 8, 2023

The craters on the Martian surface are important to scientists because they provide clues about the planet's history and evolution. By studying the craters, they can not only learn about the frequency and size of impacts that have occurred on Mars over time, but also about the composition of the objects that have impacted the planet. Additionally, the craters can provide insight into the geological processes that have shaped the planet's surface.

NASA's HiRISE has been an invaluable tool for the scientific community studying Mars, and its images have been used in countless scientific papers and publications.