NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows mesas and troughs in the northern Nilosyrtis Mensae region of Mars. The larger mesas are capped by boulders or small knobs which are probably the eroded remnants of a layer of rock. The picture is located near 37.8°N, 282.5°W and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The scene is illuminated by sunlight 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.