Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Olympian Lava Channels
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-651, 29 February 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Flowing lava can make leveed channels--that is, channels with raised-rimmed walls. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example from the lower north flank of the giant volcano, Olympus Mons. The channels today are filled with a blanket of dust. The image is located near 23.0°N, 135.9°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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