Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
South Polar Dunes
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-683, 1 April 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 a small patch of dark, windblown sand in the martian south polar region. Throughout the south high latitudes, dark sand has been trapped by wind in craters, pits, and depressions. This example is located near 64.5°S, 9.5°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. 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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