Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Polar Layers
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1427, 9 April 2006
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 an eroded stack of layered material in a crater of the south polar region of Mars. The composition of the layers is not known; some speculate that they may contain a combination of dust and ice, or possibly ancient sedimentary rock. |
| Location near: 80.6°S, 230.4°W |
| Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
| Illumination from: upper left |
| Season: Southern Summer |
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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