NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows steep slopes of light-toned rock and dark windblown sand in eastern Candor Chasma, part of the vast Valles Marineris trough system. The rock is probably sedimentary. In a few places, rock has broken down and slid downslope to create a narrow chute and a pile of talus where the slope meets the adjacent dark, dune-covered plain. This image is located near 7.8°S, 64.9°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene 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.