Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Layered Remnant
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-619, 28 January 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This southern summer Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a remnant of layered sedimentary material that was once much more extensive, covering a vast intercrater area near 69.1°S, 207.5°W. These layers have been protected from being completely removed by erosion, in part, because of the ancient meteor impact crater located at the lower left. The dark lines that squiggle and streak across this scene were most likely formed by passing dust devils that disrupted or removed some of the thin layer of dust coating this terrain. The picture covers an area approximately 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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