Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Dusty Troughs
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-494, 25 September 2003
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) picture shows dust-mantled troughs formed by faulting on the plains northeast of the volcano, Ascraeus Mons. The smooth areas are covered with thick accumulations of dust, the rougher surfaces are lava flows that also have been blanketed by dust. Thick accumulations of dust are common throughout the Tharsis volcanic region of Mars. This picture is located near 8.3°N, 117.5°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across. 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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