Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Galle Crater Dunes
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-597, 6 January 2004
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 sand dunes in southern Galle Crater, east of Argyre Planitia. The sand that comprises these dunes, like other dunes on Mars, is dark, but at the time this picture was acquired during early southern summer, the dunes were covered with a coating of bright dust. Occasional, passing dust devils or wind gusts created the dark streaks seen on a few of the dunes. The dunes are located near 51.9°S, 31.2°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; sunlight illuminates the scene 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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