Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Wind Streak in Acidalia
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-705, 23 April 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Thin deposits of bright dust often form tails in the lee of craters in Acidalia Planitia. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows an example from southern Acidalia near 23.0°N, 39.6°W. The dominant winds blow from the upper right (northeast) toward the lower left (southwest). The picture 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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