Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Old Martian Valley
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-578, 18 December 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 an ancient, unnamed, martian valley in the Xanthe Terra region, located near 3.3°S, 54.9°W. This valley might have been a conduit for flowing water, but there is no way to be certain because it is so old that none of its original features have been preserved. Bright, windblown ripples are now found on the valley floor. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene from the 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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