Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Wind Erosion in Tithonium
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1077, 30 April 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 wind-eroded sedimentary rocks in Tithonium Chasma, one of the troughs of the Valles Marineris system. The winds responsible for the majority of the erosion blew from the northeast (upper right), creating yardangs (wind erosion ridges) with their tapered ends pointing downwind. |
| Location near: 4.6°S, 88.3°W |
| Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
| Illumination from: upper left |
| Season: Southern Winter |
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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