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Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Southern Terrain

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1350, 22 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 an eroded landscape in the south polar region of Mars. Layered material has been exposed to create a complex pattern of steps and low, isolated mesas. The material has also been cracked, and semi-parallel ridges on some of the 'stairsteps' may be old, windblown ripples.
Location near: 86.0°S, 182.1°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer


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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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