Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Arabia Crater Cluster
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-739, 27 May 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 portion of a large field of small craters clustered together in northeastern Arabia Terra. Crater clusters usually result from the secondary impact of debris thrown from a much larger impact or from the break-up and impact of fragments of a large meteor. Each crater has subsequently been partially filled by material that erodes to form a rugged crater floor surface, and the general appearance of each crater has been somewhat eroded and modified, as well. The image is located near 34.7°N, 314.7°W, and 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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