Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Crater Floor Yardangs
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-927, 1 December 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 group of semi-parallel ridges--yardangs--etched by wind into layered sedimentary rock on the floor of an unnamed crater in Terra Cimmeria. Many craters on Mars have been the sites of sedimentation. Over time, these sediments have become lithified. This picture is located near 31.3°S, 214.6°W. The image covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/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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