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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Mars Boulders: On a Hill in Utopia Planitia
Title
Mars Boulders: On a Hill in Utopia Planitia
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) was designed specifically to provide images of Mars that have a resolution comparable to the aerial photographs commonly used by Earth scientists to study geological processes and map landforms on our home planet. When MGS reaches its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, MOC will be able to obtain pictures with spatial resolutions of 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel--this good enough to easily see objects the size of an automobile.
Boulders are one of the keys to determining which processes have eroded, transported, and deposited material on Mars (e.g.,landsli des, mud flows, flood debris). During the first year in orbit,MGS MOC obtained pictures with resolutions between 2 and 30 meters (7to 98 feet) per pixel. It was found that boulders are difficult to identify on Mars in images with resolutions worse than about 2-3 meters per pixel. Although not known when the MOC was designed,"thresholds " like this are found on Earth, too. The MOC's 1.5 m/pixel resolution was a compromise between (1) the anticipation of such resolution-dependent sensitivity based on our experience with Earth and (2)the cost in terms of mass if we had built a larger telescope to get a higher resolution.
Some rather larger boulders (i.e., larger than about 10 meters--or yards--in size) have already been seen on Mars by the orbiting camera. This is a feat similar to that which can be obtained by "spy" satellites on Earth. The MOC image 53104 subframe shown above features a low, rounded hill in southeastern Utopia Planitia. Each of the small, lumpy features on the top of this hill is a boulder. In this picture, boulders are not seen on the surrounding plain. These boulders are interpreted to be the remnants of a layer of harder rock that once covered the top of the hill, but was subsequently eroded and broken up by weathering and wind processes.
MOC image 53104 was taken on September 2, 1998. The subframe shows an area 2.2 km by 3.3 km (1.4 miles by 2.7 miles). The image has a resolution of about 3.25 meters (10.7 feet) per pixel. The subframe is centered at 41.0°N latitude and 207.3°W longitude.(CLICK HERE for a context image). North is approximately up, illumination is from the left.
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.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) was designed specifically to provide images of Mars that have a resolution comparable to the aerial photographs commonly used by Earth scientists to study geological processes and map landforms on our home planet. When MGS reaches its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, MOC will be able to obtain pictures with spatial resolutions of 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel--this good enough to easily see objects the size of an automobile.
Boulders are one of the keys to determining which processes have eroded, transported, and deposited material on Mars (e.g.,landsli des, mud flows, flood debris). During the first year in orbit,MGS MOC obtained pictures with resolutions between 2 and 30 meters (7to 98 feet) per pixel. It was found that boulders are difficult to identify on Mars in images with resolutions worse than about 2-3 meters per pixel. Although not known when the MOC was designed,"thresholds " like this are found on Earth, too. The MOC's 1.5 m/pixel resolution was a compromise between (1) the anticipation of such resolution-dependent sensitivity based on our experience with Earth and (2)the cost in terms of mass if we had built a larger telescope to get a higher resolution.
Some rather larger boulders (i.e., larger than about 10 meters--or yards--in size) have already been seen on Mars by the orbiting camera. This is a feat similar to that which can be obtained by "spy" satellites on Earth. The MOC image 53104 subframe shown above features a low, rounded hill in southeastern Utopia Planitia. Each of the small, lumpy features on the top of this hill is a boulder. In this picture, boulders are not seen on the surrounding plain. These boulders are interpreted to be the remnants of a layer of harder rock that once covered the top of the hill, but was subsequently eroded and broken up by weathering and wind processes.
MOC image 53104 was taken on September 2, 1998. The subframe shows an area 2.2 km by 3.3 km (1.4 miles by 2.7 miles). The image has a resolution of about 3.25 meters (10.7 feet) per pixel. The subframe is centered at 41.0°N latitude and 207.3°W longitude.(CLICK HERE for a context image). North is approximately up, illumination is from the left.
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.
Original Caption Released with Image
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Addition Date:
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2000-09-18
Addition_Date
2000-09-18
Addition Date
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Produced By:
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Malin Space Science Systems
Produced_By
Malin Space Science Systems
Produced By
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Mission:
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Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Mission
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Spacecraft
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
Spacecraft
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Target Name:
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Mars
Target_Name
Mars
Target Name
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Is a satellite of:
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Sol (our sun)
Is_a_satellite_of
Sol (our sun)
Is a satellite of
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Instrument:
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Mars Orbiter Camera
Instrument
Mars Orbiter Camera
Instrument
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Product Size:
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690 samples x 1017 lines
Product_Size
690 samples x 1017 lines
Product Size
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Primary Data Set:
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MGS EDRs
Primary_Data_Set
MGS EDRs
Primary Data Set
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Producer ID:
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MOC2-77
P50183
MRPS94109
Producer_ID
MOC2-77
P50183
MRPS94109
Producer ID
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Earth
facet_what
Earth
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars
facet_what
Mars
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Surveyor
facet_what
Surveyor
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Observer
facet_what
Mars Observer
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
facet_what
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Denver
facet_where
Denver
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Mars
facet_where
Mars
facet_where
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facet_where:
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California
facet_where
California
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Utopia Planitia, Mars
facet_where
Utopia Planitia, Mars
facet_where
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facet_when:
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March 1999
facet_when
March 1999
facet_when
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facet_when:
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September 2, 1998
facet_when
September 2, 1998
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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1999
facet_when_year
1999
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1998
facet_when_year
1998
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA01500
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA01500
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA01500
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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