Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Yardangs in Gordii Dorsum Region
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-641, 19 February 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Yardangs are wind erosion features shaped somewhat like inverted boat hulls. Yardangs are common on Mars, as wind is the most erosive agent acting today on this desert planet. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example located in the vicinity of the Gordii Dorsum near 4.2°S, 159.9°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left; the picture 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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