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Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Cratered Surface

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1349, 21 January 2006

Medium-sized view of MGS MOC Picture of the Day, updated daily
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cratered surface in the Tempe Terra region of the red planet. One of the goals of the MOC Picture of the Day series is to present images that capture the range and variety of surface features seen by MOC all over Mars. This view presents a fairly typical scene from the plains northeast of the Tharsis region.
Location near: 31.0°N, 84.1°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Winter


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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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