- published: 31 Oct 2013
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Gale is a crater on Mars near the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle at 5°24′S 137°48′E / 5.4°S 137.8°E / -5.4; 137.8. It is 154 km (96 mi) in diameter and believed to be about 3.5 to 3.8 billion years old. The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer who observed Mars in the late 19th century and described the presence of canals.Aeolis Mons is a mountain in the center of Gale Crater and rises 5.5 km (18,000 ft) high.Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale Crater and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons. The NASA Mars rover, Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) (named "Curiosity"), is expected to explore Aeolis Mons after a planned landing on Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on 6 August 2012.
An unusual feature of Gale is an enormous mound of debris around its central peak, officially named Aeolis Mons (after having been named for a short while Mount Sharp) rising 5.5 km (18,000 ft) above the northern crater floor and 4.5 km (15,000 ft) above the southern crater floor - slightly taller than the southern rim of the crater itself. The mound is composed of layered material and may have been laid down over a period of around 2 billion years. The origin of this mound is not known with certainty, but research suggests it is the eroded remnant of sedimentary layers that once filled the crater completely, possibly originally deposited on a lakebed. However, there is debate around this issue. Observations of possible cross-bedded strata on the upper mound suggest Aeolian processes, but the origin of the lower mound layers remains ambiguous.