Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Marte Valles Crater "Island"
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-692, 10 April 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Marte Valles is an outflow channel system that straddles 180°W longitude between the region south of Cerberus and far northwestern Amazonis. The floor of the Marte valleys have enigmatic platy flow features that some argue are formed by lava, others suggest they are remnants of mud flows. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an island created in the middle of the main Marte Valles channel as fluid---whether lava or mud---flowed past two older meteor impact craters. The craters are located near 21.5°N, 175.3°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower 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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