Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Caterpillar Dunes
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-771, 28 June 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Looking somewhat like caterpillars, this April 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some of the rounded, wind-eroded sand dune features in a crater in the southern hemisphere near 61.7°S, 160.3°W. For such rounding to occur, the dune sand might need to be somewhat cemented. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight 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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