Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Polar Shells
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1469, 21 May 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 sand dunes overlain by a layer of seasonal carbon dioxide frost in the north polar region of Mars. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left, but slopes facing toward the upper right seem illuminated because of the thicker accumulation of frost on the slopes facing away from the sunlight. |
| Location near: 76.3°N, 264.3°W |
| Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
| Illumination from: lower left |
| Season: Northern Winter |
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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