Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Ripples and Dunes
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1475, 27 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 dark sand dunes on the floor of an impact crater west of Hellas Planitia. Portions of the crater floor are exposed near the center and lower right corner of the image but, in general, the floor is covered by large, windblown ripples. The dark dune sand typically covers ripples, indicating that the dunes are younger and made of a more mobile material. |
| Location near: 43.7°S, 320.4°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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