Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Flows of Olympus

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-506, 7 October 2003


NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a series of dust-covered, overlapping lava flows on the lower southeast flank of the giant martian volcano, Olympus Mons. Leveed channels are abundant; they were the conduits through which molten lava was transported down the length of each flow. This picture is located near 14.3°N, 132.3°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The image is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.


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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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