Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Exhumed Craters
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-778, 5 July 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Burial and exhumation is a theme that repeats itself, all over the surface of Mars. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows several north mid-latitude meteor impact craters with bouldery ejecta deposits. Each of the craters was once buried and later exhumed. Mesas on the floors of these craters are remnants of the materials that once filled and covered them. The craters are located near 39.7°N, 206.0°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide; 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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