Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Dust-Raising Event
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-515, 16 October 2003
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
The bright feature near the center-left in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture is a plume of dust being raised by wind on a slope in far eastern Arabia Terra on February 18, 2001, near 2 p.m. (14:00) local time. The dark feature immediately below and to the right of the bright plume is the shadow being cast by this brief, dust-raising event. The picture is located near 3.5°N, 306.6°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The shadow indicates that this scene is illuminated by sunlight from the upper 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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