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Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Light-toned Rock Outcrop in Aureum Chaos

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1606, 30 October 2006

Light-toned rock exposure on Mars.
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an outcrop of light-toned, layered, sedimentary rock in Aureum Chaos. The darker material, which includes ripples, is composed of windblown sand and granules. This scene is located near 3.8°S, 26.2°W, and covers an area roughly 7.7 km by 3 km (4.8 by 1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the terrain from the top/upper right. This southern autumn image was acquired on 14 July 2006.

Tips for Media Use -- Note on discontinuation of "MOC Picture of the Day"

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.