Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Global Views of Mars in late Northern Summer
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-310, 18 April 2002
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) orbits around
the red planet 12 times a day. Each
orbit goes from pole to pole. Over the course of a single day, the
wide angle cameras of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) system take 24
pictures--12 red and 12 blue--that are assembled to create a daily
global map. Such global views are used to monitor the martian weather
and observe changes in the patterns of frost and dust distribution on
the surface. These two pictures are examples of what Mars looks like
in late northern summer, which is also late southern winter. At this
time of year, the south polar cap (bottom, white feature in each
image) is very large, extending from the south pole northward to
60°S. Also at this time of year, clouds of water ice crystals are
common over the four largest volcanoes in Tharsis. The picture on the
right shows Tharsis, with the four volcanoes forming a triangle
resembling the pattern of holes on a bowling ball. The image on the
left is centered on Syrtis Major, a dark, windswept volcanic plain so
large that it has been known to science since the first telescopes
were turned toward Mars in the 1600s. The elliptical bright feature
at lower-center in the left image is the Hellas Basin, the largest
unequivocal impact basin (formed by an asteroid or comet) on the
planet. Hellas is approximately 2200 km (1,370 mi) across.
Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
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,
CA. 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, CA
and Denver, CO.
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