Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Northern Plains Crater
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-945, 19 December 2004
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
Most craters on the martian northern lowland plains are filled and many of them are buried just beneath the surface, or are mostly buried. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example, in which only the crater's raised rim still pokes out above the surrounding plains. This crater is located near 46.2°N, 257.7°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the 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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