Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
West Olympica Fossae
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-829, 25 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 a portion of a deeply eroded valley system in the western portion of the Olympica Fossae region of central Tharsis. The valleys may have been carved by water; today they are mantled by a thick blanket of dust, and small craters formed by meteor impacts superpose the valley landforms. This picture is located near 23.0°N, 117.2°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/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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