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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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MGS MOC Coverage of Mars Polar Lander Region
Title
MGS MOC Coverage of Mars Polar Lander Region
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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High-resolution views of the Mars Polar Lander landing zone were essential to the selection of a safe place for the December 3, 1999, landing to occur. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took its first pictures of the landing zone in December 1997 and January 1998. After that time, the south polar region was not accessible to the camera until June 1999, when the south polar winter was ending and the sun began to dawn on this region once again. Since the beginning of June 1999, an intense period of imaging has been conducted over the landing zone so that a safe site could be found. The final site has now been identified, and the pictures shown here give some idea of what the Mars Polar Lander will encounter a little more than three months from now. This figure shows the zone originally proposed by the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) science team for the Mars Polar Lander mission, which spanned the region from 72° to 78°S latitude and 170° to 230°W longitude. The thin white boxes and lines crossing the proposed zone outline MOC images taken between the first week in June 1999 and the first week in August 1999. The longest images were taken at 12 by 18 meters (39 by 59 feet) per pixel; there are three sets of long images, each taken during a given week in June as the terminator (the line separating "night" from "day") moved south across the landing zone. Smaller swaths represent images at higher resolution. The best resolution so far achieved is about 4 meters (13 ft) per pixel; better images will be taken in September and October as the sun rises farther and the surface becomes better illuminated. This figure shows the location of the primary (blue) and secondary (white) landing ellipses, which were selected on the basis of interpretation of the MGS data, in particular data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the Mars Orbiter Camera
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
High-resolution views of the Mars Polar Lander landing zone were essential to the selection of a safe place for the December 3, 1999, landing to occur. The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) took its first pictures of the landing zone in December 1997 and January 1998. After that time, the south polar region was not accessible to the camera until June 1999, when the south polar winter was ending and the sun began to dawn on this region once again. Since the beginning of June 1999, an intense period of imaging has been conducted over the landing zone so that a safe site could be found. The final site has now been identified, and the pictures shown here give some idea of what the Mars Polar Lander will encounter a little more than three months from now. This figure shows the zone originally proposed by the Mars Volatiles and Climate Surveyor (MVACS) science team for the Mars Polar Lander mission, which spanned the region from 72° to 78°S latitude and 170° to 230°W longitude. The thin white boxes and lines crossing the proposed zone outline MOC images taken between the first week in June 1999 and the first week in August 1999. The longest images were taken at 12 by 18 meters (39 by 59 feet) per pixel; there are three sets of long images, each taken during a given week in June as the terminator (the line separating "night" from "day") moved south across the landing zone. Smaller swaths represent images at higher resolution. The best resolution so far achieved is about 4 meters (13 ft) per pixel; better images will be taken in September and October as the sun rises farther and the surface becomes better illuminated. This figure shows the location of the primary (blue) and secondary (white) landing ellipses, which were selected on the basis of interpretation of the MGS data, in particular data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter and the Mars Orbiter Camera Original Caption Released with Image
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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. The selection criteria were to find a place that was relatively flat and relatively smooth, but which displayed characteristics of the south polar layered materials. The inset (upper left) shows the location of the landing zone with respect to the south polar residual (year-round) ice cap. The base map used here is a mosaic of Viking Orbiter images from the U.S. Geological Survey.
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 selection criteria were to find a place that was relatively flat and relatively smooth, but which displayed characteristics of the south polar layered materials. The inset (upper left) shows the location of the landing zone with respect to the south polar residual (year-round) ice cap. The base map used here is a mosaic of Viking Orbiter images from the U.S. Geological Survey.
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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2000-05-16
Addition_Date
2000-05-16
Addition Date
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/MSSS
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/MSSS
Image Credit
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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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987 samples x 708 lines
Product_Size
987 samples x 708 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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MOC2-174A
MRPS95198
Producer_ID
MOC2-174A
MRPS95198
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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Polar
facet_what
Polar
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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Viking
facet_what
Viking
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Dawn
facet_what
Dawn
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Altimeter
facet_what
Altimeter
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 Polar Lander
facet_what
Mars Polar Lander
facet_what
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facet_what:
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MGS MOC
facet_what
MGS MOC
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
facet_what
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
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_what:
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Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA)
facet_what
Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA)
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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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
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facet_when:
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December 1997
facet_when
December 1997
facet_when
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facet_when:
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June 1999
facet_when
June 1999
facet_when
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facet_when:
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January 1998
facet_when
January 1998
facet_when
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facet_when:
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August 1999
facet_when
August 1999
facet_when
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facet_when:
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December 3, 1999
facet_when
December 3, 1999
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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1997
facet_when_year
1997
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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PIA02310
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA02310
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA02310
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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