What else do scientists already know about Gusev Crater?
Gusev is a windswept, 90-mile wide impact crater that formed between 3 and 4 billion years ago. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) instrument has compiled topographic maps of the area that show the crater is only a little over 1 mile deep. We know a 2-mile thick layer of material covers Gusev’s floor, because a fresh impact of this size would be much deeper. Scientists are unsure if the crater floor deposits were transported by water from the Ma’adim Vallis channel lying to the south, or if the nearby volcano Apollinaris Patera filled the crater with ash.
