Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
North Polar Layers
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-959, 2 January 2005
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 depression eroded into north polar layered materials located near 86.1°N, 30.8°W. The layers in the north polar region have been considered for more than 30 years to be composed of dust and ice, although this cannot be confirmed without sending a person or robot to investigate. This picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. 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.
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