Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Rugged Olympus Mons
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1147, 9 July 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 1.5 meters per pixel (~5 ft/pixel) view of a portion of the upper west flank of the giant martian volcano, Olympus Mons. Although considered to be young relative to much of Mars, at high resolution the Olympus Mons volcano turns out to have one of the most heavily cratered surfaces--at the scale of small craters of tens of meters diameter and smaller--on the planet. In other words, while the volcano may be a geologically young feature, it is still very ancient and inactive. A segment of a lava channel--likely a collapsed lava tube--is present in this scene. |
| Location near: 17.9°N, 134.6°W |
| Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
| Illumination from: lower left |
| Season: Northern Autumn |
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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