Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Devil-Streaked Crater
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-562, 2 December 2003
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This September 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a plethora of dark streaks created during the recent southern spring by dust devils as they passed over and around an old, nearly filled, meteor impact crater. The circular feature is the former crater; the dark dots and specks on its rims are boulders. Dust devils create streaks by removing or disrupting thin coatings of fine, bright, dust on the surface. These are ephemeral features that will disappear before the next spring arrives in 2005. The crater is located near 57.4°S, 234.0°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated 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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