Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Gullies in Crater
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-684, 2 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 gullies in the wall of a large southern mid-latitude impact crater located near 39.8°S, 202.0°W. The gullies might have formed by transport of water and sediment down these crater slopes. Alternatively, a fluid other than water may have been involved (e.g., carbon dioxide), but most investigators agree that water is most likely. 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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