Martian Crater Galdakao Nudges Jagged Northeastern Rim of Gusev Crater

Summary: Martian Crater Galdakao nudges the jagged northeastern rim of Gusev Crater in the Martian southern hemisphere's Aeolis quadrangle.

High-resolution, five-wavelength visual imaging system (VIS) image, obtained by 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), depicts part of Gusev Crater's rim and ejecta, with Galdakao Crater's rim appearing as arc feature terminating at the channel (lower right); image ID V24582002; image captured Saturday, June 30, 2007, 00:53, at minus 12.9245 south latitude, 176.398 east longitude, during orbit 24582; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University: via Arizona State University Mars Odyssey THEMIS

Galdakao Crater nudges the jagged northeastern rim of Gusev Crater in the southeastern quadrant of the Martian southern hemisphere's Aolis quadrangle as the large impact crater's only named northeastern neighborly crater.

The Aeolis quadrangle numbers as the 23rd of 30 cartographic quadrangles dividing the Martian surface according to mapping by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Designated as Mars Chart 23 (MC-23), the Aeolis quadrangle encompasses 180 degrees west to 225 degrees west longitude (180 degrees east to 135 degrees east longitude) and zero degrees to minus 30 degrees south latitude.

Galdakao Crater is centered at minus 13.34 degrees south, 176.63 degrees east, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. It posts its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 13.06 degrees south and minus 13.62 degrees south, respectively. It marks its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 176.92 degrees east and 176.34 degrees east, respectively. Galdakao Crater's diameter measures 33.44 kilometers.

Galdakao Crater neighbors at the edge of Gusev Crater's northeastern craggy rim. Galdakao occurs as Gusev Crater's only named northern craterous neighbor.

Gusev Crater's eastern rim exhibits greater relief than its western rim, according to planetary geologists David A. Crown, James W. Rice, Steven W. Ruff and Stephen P. Scheidt and senior research associate Frank C. Chuang in "Geologic Mapping of Gusev Crater, Mars: Gusev Rim and Floor Characteristics," presented at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and U.S. Geological Survey's 2021 Annual Meeting of Planetary Geologic Mappers (PGM), which was held virtually Monday, June 14, to Tuesday, June 15. The north-northeastern rim's maximum relief of approximately 2,550 meters contrasts with the north-northwestern rim's relief maximum of approximately 600 meters. Incised slopes, numerous canyon-like valleys and seeming deposits of alluvial sediments configure Gusev Crater's northeastern rim.

Gusev Crater is centered at minus 14.53 degrees south latitude, 175.52 degrees west longitude. The impact crater expresses its northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 13.20 degrees south and minus 15.86 degrees south, respectively. It details its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 176.91 degrees east and 174.15 degrees east, respectively. Gusev Crater's diameter spans 158.12 kilometers.

Galdakao Crater is located between Gusev Crater, its south-southwestern neighbor, and Apollinaris Sulci (Latin: sulci, plural, "plow-drawn furrows"), its northern neighbor. The feature type termed "Sulcus, sulci" is defined by the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature as "Subparallel furrows and ridges." Apollinaris Sulci is specified as a region occupying the Martian dichotomy, the boundary between the Red Planet's sharply contrasted northern and southern hemispheres, according to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) senior research scientist Laura Kerber and 14 co-authors in "A Human Landing Site at Apollinaris Sulci: Life Inside a Yardang," presented during First Landing Site/Exploration Zone Workshop for Human Missions to the Surface of Mars, held Tuesday, Oct. 27, to Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, Texas. As a dichotomous site southeast of volcanic Apollinaris Mons and northeast of the Gusev impact crater, Apollinaris Sulci mingles with diverse terrain boundaries.

Apollinaris Sulci is centered at minus 11.06 degrees south latitude, 177.47 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitutdes touch minus 9.47 degrees south and minus 12.65 degrees south, respectively. It establishes its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 178.80 degrees east and 176.21 degrees east, respectively. Apollinaris Sulci's diameter spans 188.64 kilometers.

Apollinaris Mons (Latin: mons, "mountain") lies to the northwest of Galdakao Crater and of Apollinaris Sulci. Apollinaris Mons describes as "a volcanic construct" that formed "along the transition zone between the northern lowlands and southern highlands" (Figure 1 Context View of Apollinaris Mons), according to senior research associate Frank C. Chuang and senior scientists David A. Crown and Daniel C. Berman in "Geology of the northeastern flank of Apollinaris Mons, Mars: Constraints on the erosional history from morphology, topography, and crater populations," published in the Nov. 15, 2019, issue of Icarus.

Apollinaris Mons is centered at minus 9.17 degrees south latitude, 174.79 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend from minus 6.88 degrees south to minus 11.47 degrees south latitude. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes stretch from 176.40 degrees east to 172.66 degrees east, respectively. Apollinaris Mons has a diameter of 275.40 kilometers.

Apollinaris Patera designates the caldera of Apollinaris Mons. The name formerly referenced the entire volcanic mountain.

Apollinaris Patera is centered at minus 8.57 degrees south latitude, 174.18 degrees east longitude. It records northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 7.92 degrees south and minus 9.22 degrees south, respectively. The caldera registers its easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 174.91 degrees east and 173.43 degrees east, respectively. Apollinaris Patera's diameter measures 89.60 kilometers.

Galdakao Crater honors "Euskadi (Basque) town in Spain," according to the crater's profile page on the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Galdakao is a town and municipality in the province of Biscay (Basque: Bizkaia; Spanish: Vizcaya) in the Basque Country (Basque: Euskadi; Spanish: País Vasco; French: Pays Basque), also called Basque Autonomous Community (Basque: Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa; Spanish: Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco; French: Communauté autonome du Pays basque). The International Astronomical Union approved the crater's Basque-honoring name in 2003, the year of the IAU's XXV (25th) General Assembly, which was held from Saturday, July 12, to Saturday, July 26, 2003, in Sydney, Australia.

detail of MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) Context (CTX) Image of "Galdako Crater and surrounding terrain" (image ID: CTX: P18_008172_1668_XI_13S183W), image time 2008-04-24T05:51:44.789, orbit 8172, center latitude minus 13.2 degrees south, center longitude 176.49 degrees east longitude, spacecraft altitude 260.27 kilometers, solar distance 248,956,272 kilometers: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

High-resolution, five-wavelength visual imaging system (VIS) image, obtained by 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), depicts part of Gusev Crater's rim and ejecta, with Galdakao Crater's rim appearing as arc feature terminating at the channel (lower right); image ID V24582002; image captured Saturday, June 30, 2007, 00:53, at minus 12.9245 south latitude, 176.398 east longitude, during orbit 24582; image credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University: via Arizona State University Mars Odyssey THEMIS @ https://themis.mars.asu.edu/zoom-20070827a

detail of MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter) Context (CTX) Image of "Galdako Crater and surrounding terrain" (image ID: CTX: P18_008172_1668_XI_13S183W), image time 2008-04-24T05:51:44.789, orbit 8172, center latitude minus 13.2 degrees south, center longitude 176.49 degrees east longitude, spacecraft altitude 260.27 kilometers, solar distance 248,956,272 kilometers: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikigaldakao.jpg; via ASU Mars Space Flight Facility Image Viewer @ http://viewer.mars.asu.edu/planetview/inst/ctx/P18_008172_1668_XI_13S183W#P=P18_008172_1668_XI_13S183W&T=2

For further information:

Christensen, P.R. (Phillip R.); N.S. (Noel S.) Gorelick; G.L. (Greg L.) Mehall; and K.C. (Kimberly C.) Murray. "Ejecta Modification. This VIS image is of part of the rim and ejecta of Gusev Crater. The arc feature that begins just right of center at the bottom of the frame and ends at the channel is the rim of Galdakao Crater. The channels and yardangs in this image were formed during the modification of the surface by wind and water." Mars Odyssey and THEMIS Thermal Emission Imaging System > Image Galleries > THEMIS Image of the Day. THEMIS Public Data Releases, Planetary Data System node, Arizona State University.
Available via Mars Odyssey and THEMIS @ https://themis.mars.asu.edu/zoom-20070827a

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Available via ScienceDirect @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019103518306869

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/324

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/324

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2070

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/Gusev

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