Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Valles Marineris
Original Caption Released with Image:
MOC images P013_01 and P013_02 were acquired with the low resolution red and blue wide angle cameras at 2:14 PM PDT on October 3, 1997, about 11 minutes after Mars Global Surveyor passed close to the planet for the thirteenth time. To make a color image, a third component (green) was synthesized from the red and blue images. During the imaging period, the spacecraft was canted towards the sun-lit hemisphere by 25°, and the MOC was obliquely viewing features from about 600 to 1000 km (360 to 600 miles) away. The resolution at those distances was between 350 and 600 meters (0.25 to 0.37 miles) per picture element. The image covers an area from 73° to 86° W longitude and 5° N to 10° S).

In the image above, north is to the top. The camera is viewing towards the west. The image is the composite of MOC frames P013_01 and P013_02. Because the MOC acquires its images one line at a time, the cant angle towards the sun-lit portion of the planet, the spacecraft orbital velocity, and the spacecraft rotational velocity combine to distort the image slightly. However, the wide angle cameras provide a fairly realistic portrayal of what one would see looking out across Mars from the Orbiter. Notable in this image are the late afternoon clouds and hazes that are concentrated within the Valles Marineris canyon system.

Launched on November 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor entered Mars orbit on Thursday, September 11, 1997. From the planned 400 km (248 mi) orbit altitude, MOC wide angle images will be 2-4 times higher resolution than these pictures.

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.
Addition Date:
1997-10-15
Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Produced By:
Malin Space Science Systems
Mission:
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Spacecraft:
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Target Name:
Mars
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Mars Orbiter Camera
Product Size:
928 samples x 1552 lines
Primary Data Set:
MGS EDRs
Producer ID:
MOC2-13B
P49389
MRPS85056
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Surveyor
facet_what:
Mars Observer
facet_what:
Valles
facet_what:
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what:
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
Denver
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Valles Marineris, Mars
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_when:
November 7, 1996
facet_when:
October 3, 1997
facet_when:
September 11, 1997
facet_when_year:
1996
facet_when_year:
1997
Image #:
PIA00991
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA00991
orignial url:

Valles Marineris