Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Polar Layers
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1181, 12 August 2005
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
|
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
| This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a slope upon which are exposed some of the layered materials that underlie the south polar cap of Mars. The layers are generally considered to be sediments--perhaps dust--that may have been cemented by water ice. |
| Location near: 84.1°S, 343.9°W |
| Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
| Illumination from: upper left |
| Season: Southern Spring |
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.
To MSSS Home Page