In the book “The Martian” by Andy Weir, stranded astronaut Mark Watney is headed for the Ares 4 landing site but encounters the rim of Marth Crater just as a dust storm arrives. This HiRISE image shows the nature of this terrain.

The crater rim is not very distinct and from the ground it would be quite difficult to tell that you are even on the rim of a crater. The terrain is hummocky and rolling, punctuated by smaller impact craters and wind-blown drifts of sand or dust.

Written by: Alfred McEwen   (30 September 2015)

More info and image formats at http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/ESP_042252_1930

Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona