Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
South Polar Crater
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-818, 14 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) picture shows a small, 280-meter (~919 feet)-diameter meteor impact crater in south polar layered terrain. The ejecta from the crater today stands somewhat higher than the surrounding terrain, suggesting that, at the time the impact occurred, the surface was several meters higher than it is today. A layer of material, several meters thick, has been stripped away since the time the crater formed. The image is located near 86.3°S, 113.0°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. The scene 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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