Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
North Polar Dunes
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-946, 20 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 grouping of elongated, dark (low albedo) sand dunes in the north polar region of Mars. This picture was acquired during early summer in October 2004. The larger dune mass in this image may have accumulated through the coalescence of smaller dunes. These features are located near 85.7°N, 180.4°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight 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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