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Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Acidalia Plain

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1451, 3 May 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 relatively flat plain in Acidalia Planitia. The circular feature near the left (west) edge is the surface manifestation of a buried impact crater, a common feature observed on the northern plains of Mars. The darker feature is a younger, fresher impact crater—but, it too, has been somewhat buried beneath a mantle of material.
Location near: 53.1°N, 32.6°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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