Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Polar Dunes, Spotted
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-827, 23 August 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows sand dunes in the martian north polar region in mid-spring, July 2004. In summer, the dunes will be dark. As they defrost, dark spots form on their surfaces. This image is located near 82.8°N, 219.6°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.
Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, California. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, California and Denver, Colorado.
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