Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Nili Buttes and Mesas
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-784, 11 July 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 small buttes and irregular mesas on the floor of a crater in the Nili Fossae region of Mars. Considerable erosion in the Nili Fossae region has exposed layered rocks and stripped materials away, revealing long-buried landforms and more ancient landscapes. This image is located near 24.3°N, 279.8°W. It covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight 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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