Pasteur (Martian crater)

Pasteur Crater is a impact crater, crater in the Arabia quadrangle of Mars, located at 19.4° north latitude and 335.5° west longitude. It is approximately in diameter and was named after renowned French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur.

Description

Dark sand dunes are clustered in the southwest of the crater. The orientation of the barchan dunes suggest that they were generated by northeasterly winds. The source of the dune's sand appears to be local. Upwind of the dunes there is a 2-km diameter crater, informally known as Euphrates, within Pasteur crater that may have excavated sediments. The dark sediments have formed a patch at Euphrates' base. HiRISE imagery of the intracrater dunes within Pasteur crater over 1 martian year indicate that the dunes are active with sand movement in a southwesterly direction.

Gallery

File:Pasteur crater 833A07.jpg, Viking program, Viking Orbiter 1 image
File:Wikigillmap.jpg, MOLA map, showing Pasteur crater and other nearby craters. Colors indicate elevations.
Image:Arabia map.JPG, Map of Arabia quadrangle with major craters.
Image:Pasteur Crater Floor.JPG, Pasteur crater floor, as seen by HiRISE.

References

See also

* List of craters on Mars

Arabia quadrangle
Impact craters on Mars

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