Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Layers in 8°N, 7°W Crater

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-342, 26 April 2003

NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dozens of layers of sedimentary rock in an unnamed western Arabia crater at 8°N, 7°W. Dark, wind-blown sand and lighter-toned dunes or ripples enhance the apparent contrast in this area. Several faults, indicated by off-set layers, are present. The picture covers an area about 1.5 km (just under 1mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the 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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