Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Cracked and Pitted Plain
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-536, 6 November 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) image shows a typical view--at 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel--of surfaces in far western Utopia Planitia. In this region, the plains have developed cracks and pit chains arranged in a polygonal pattern. The pits form by collapse along the trend of a previously-formed crack. This picture is located near 45.0°N, 275.4°W. This April 2003 image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and 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.
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