Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Complex Wind Streaks
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-638, 16 February 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Northeastern Tharsis is known for its complicated patterns of wind streaks. Wind streaks are formed by sediment transport and deposition by wind. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a pattern of crisscrossing streaks indicating winds that generally blow from the southwest (lower left) toward northeast (upper right), but vary over time. The image is located near 27.6°N, 98.9°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left; the image 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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