Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Northern Meridiani Scene
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-915, 19 November 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 eroded remnants of layered sedimentary rock in northern Sinus Meridiani. The layering is best seen in the circular feature at the center/right, which is an old meteor impact crater that was once filled and buried beneath the sedimentary rocks, then later exhumed and eroded to its present state. All of the sedimentary rocks exposed in this portion of northern Sinus Meridiani are probably older than the rocks in central Sinus Meridiani that have been examined this year by the Mars Exploration Rover, Opportunity. Like the rocks visited by the rover, these, too, may contain detailed clues regarding a wetter Mars in the distant past. These landforms are located near 6.0°N, 2.0°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. 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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