Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
The Flows of Olympus
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-878, 13 October 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This August 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows lava flows and a collapsed lava tube on the upper southwest flank of Olympus Mons, one of the largest volcanoes ever known. The collapsed lava tube is the channel-like feature in the upper third of the image. All of the surfaces in this image are very heavily peppered by small meteor impact craters. While fairly young relative to much of the martian surface, the large volcanoes of Mars are still quite old and battered by impacts. This image is located near 17.9°N, 135.4°W, and image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the 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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