Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Martian Gullies
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-757, 14 June 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 gullied crater wall at 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel resolution. The gullies in this case have formed in a thick, smooth-surfaced mantle that covers the crater wall. Formation of these gullies might have involved a fluid such as water, or perhaps could have formed by avalanching of dry debris. The Mars science community is still discussing, debating, and making new observations of martian gullies to better understand their origin and implications. These gullies are located near 33.8°S, 201.6°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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