Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Slope Streaks in Arabia
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-353, 7 May 2003
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
|
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Light-, dark-, and intermediate-toned slope streaks are common in the thick, dust-mantled regions of Arabia Terra, parts of Tharsis, Memnonia, and some of the knobby areas west of Amazonis Planitia. They most likely form by avalanching of loose, dry dust, perhaps each triggered by a gust of wind. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired earlier this week (in May 2003), shows a plethora of slope streaks on the walls of an impact crater in east-central Arabia Terra near 13.0°N, 319.8°W. The image is 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/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.
To MSSS Home Page