ESA Science & Technology - Comet 67P/C-G: Ma'at close-up

Close-up view of surface textures in the Ma'at region, close to the boundary with Maftet, on the small lobe of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In this boundary region the dust that dominates Ma'at seems to thin out towards Maftet, revealing rougher terrain below (for a context image, see here). In the section shown here the dust shows a pitted texture, which may suggest an ice-rich material that may be undergoing desiccation through sublimation.

The image is a crop from an image taken with the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on 19 October 2014 from a distance of 8 km from the comet's surface.

Credits: ESA/Rosetta/MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/SSO/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA