Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Wind Erosion in Aeolis
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-813, 9 August 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 the effects of severe wind erosion of layered sedimentary rock in the Aeolis region of Mars. The sharp ridges formed by wind movement from the lower left (southwest) toward top/upper right (northeast) are known as yardangs. The dark patches in the lower half of the image are sand dunes. This scene is located near 5.0°S, 203.7°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the terrain from the left/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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