Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
3000 Mile Laser Altimeter Profile Across Northern Hemisphere of Mars
Original Caption Released with Image:
Topographic profile across the northern hemisphere of Mars from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA). The profile was obtained during the Mars Global Surveyor Capture Orbit Calibration Pass on September 15, 1997 and represents 20 minutes of data collection. The profile has a length of approximately 3000 miles (5000 kilometers). The large bulge is the western part of the Elysium rise, the second largest volcanic province on Mars, and shows over 3 miles (5 kilometers) of vertical relief. This area contains deep chasms that reflect tectonic, volcanic and erosional processes. In contrast is the almost 1featureless1 northern plains region of Mars, which shows only hundreds of meters of relief at scales the size of the United States. Plotted for comparison is the elevation of the Viking Lander 2 site, which is located 275 miles (445 kilometers) west of the profile. At the southernmost extent of the trace is the transition from the northern plains to the ancient southern highlands. Characterizing the fine-scale nature of topography in this chaotic region is crucial to testing theories for how the dichotomy between the geologically distinctive northern lowlands and southern uplands formed and subsequently evolved. The spatial resolution of the profile is approximately 1000 feet (330 meters) and the vertical resolution is approximately 3 feet (1 meter). When the Mars Global Surveyor mapping mission commences in March, 1998, the MOLA instrument will collect 72 times as much data every day for a period of two years.
Addition Date:
1997-10-13
Produced By:
Goddard Space Flight Center
Mission:
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Spacecraft:
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
MOLA
Product Size:
3300 samples x 1634 lines
Primary Data Set:
MGS EDRs
Producer ID:
MRPS84981
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Viking
facet_what:
Altimeter
facet_what:
Viking 2 Lander
facet_what:
Surveyor
facet_what:
TRACE
facet_what:
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what:
Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA)
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
United States of America
facet_when:
September 15, 1997
facet_when:
March, 1998
facet_when_year:
1997
facet_when_year:
1998
Image #:
PIA00958
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA00958
orignial url:

3000 Mile Laser Altimeter Profile Across Northern Hemisphere of Mars