Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Sand Dunes in Hellas
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-537, 7 November 2003
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
The smooth, rounded mounds in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture are sand dunes. The scene is located in southern Hellas Planitia and was acquired in mid-southern autumn, the ideal time of year for Hellas imaging. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. These dunes are located near 49.1°S, 292.6°W. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide.
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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