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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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Highest-Resolution View of "Face on Mars
Title
Highest-Resolution View of "Face on Mars
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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A key aspect of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Extended Mission is the opportunity to turn the spacecraft and point the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) at specific features of interest. A chance to point the spacecraft comes about ten times a week. Throughout the Primary Mission (March 1999 - January 2001), nearly all MGS operations were conducted with the spacecraft pointing "nadir"--that is, straight down. In this orientation, opportunities to hit a specific small feature of interest were in some cases rare, and in other cases non-existent. In April 1998, nearly a year before MGS reached its Primary Mission mapping orbit, several tests of the spacecraft's ability to be pointed at specific features was conducted with great success (e.g., Mars Pathfinder landing site, Viking 1 site, and Cydonia landforms). When the Mars Polar Lander was lost in December 1999, this capability was again employed to search for the missing lander. Following the lander search activities, a plan to conduct similar off-nadir observations during the MGS Extended Mission was put into place. The Extended Mission began February 1, 2001. On April 8, 2001, the first opportunity since April 1998 arose to turn the spacecraft and point the MOC at the popular "Face on Mars" feature.
Viking orbiter images acquired in 1976 showed that one of thousands of buttes, mesas, ridges, and knobs in the transition zone between the cratered uplands of western Arabia Terra and the low, northern plains of Mars looked somewhat like a human face. The feature was subsequently popularized as a potential "alien artifact" in books, tabloids, radio talk shows, television, and even a major motion picture. Given the popularity of this landform, a new high-resolution view was targeted by pointing the spacecraft off-nadir on April 8, 2001. On that date at 20:54 UTC (8:54 p.m., Greenwich time zone), the MGS was rolled 24.8° to the left so that it was looking at the "face" 165 km to the side from a distance of about 450 km. The resulting image has a resolution of about 2 meters (6.6 feet) per pixel. If present on Mars, objects the size of typical passenger jet airplanes would be distinguishable in an image of this scale. The large "face" picture covers an area about 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) on a side. Sunlight illuminates the images from the left/lower left.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
A key aspect of the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Extended Mission is the opportunity to turn the spacecraft and point the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) at specific features of interest. A chance to point the spacecraft comes about ten times a week. Throughout the Primary Mission (March 1999 - January 2001), nearly all MGS operations were conducted with the spacecraft pointing "nadir"--that is, straight down. In this orientation, opportunities to hit a specific small feature of interest were in some cases rare, and in other cases non-existent. In April 1998, nearly a year before MGS reached its Primary Mission mapping orbit, several tests of the spacecraft's ability to be pointed at specific features was conducted with great success (e.g., Mars Pathfinder landing site, Viking 1 site, and Cydonia landforms). When the Mars Polar Lander was lost in December 1999, this capability was again employed to search for the missing lander. Following the lander search activities, a plan to conduct similar off-nadir observations during the MGS Extended Mission was put into place. The Extended Mission began February 1, 2001. On April 8, 2001, the first opportunity since April 1998 arose to turn the spacecraft and point the MOC at the popular "Face on Mars" feature.
Viking orbiter images acquired in 1976 showed that one of thousands of buttes, mesas, ridges, and knobs in the transition zone between the cratered uplands of western Arabia Terra and the low, northern plains of Mars looked somewhat like a human face. The feature was subsequently popularized as a potential "alien artifact" in books, tabloids, radio talk shows, television, and even a major motion picture. Given the popularity of this landform, a new high-resolution view was targeted by pointing the spacecraft off-nadir on April 8, 2001. On that date at 20:54 UTC (8:54 p.m., Greenwich time zone), the MGS was rolled 24.8° to the left so that it was looking at the "face" 165 km to the side from a distance of about 450 km. The resulting image has a resolution of about 2 meters (6.6 feet) per pixel. If present on Mars, objects the size of typical passenger jet airplanes would be distinguishable in an image of this scale. The large "face" picture covers an area about 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) on a side. Sunlight illuminates the images from the left/lower left.
Original Caption Released with Image
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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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2400 samples x 2400 lines
Product_Size
2400 samples x 2400 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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MOC2-283
Producer_ID
MOC2-283
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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Terra
facet_what
Terra
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Opportunity
facet_what
Opportunity
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Mars Pathfinder
facet_what
Mars Pathfinder
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 Polar Lander
facet_what
Mars Polar Lander
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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Mars
facet_where
Mars
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_when:
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1976
facet_when
1976
facet_when
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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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December 1999
facet_when
December 1999
facet_when
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facet_when:
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April 1998
facet_when
April 1998
facet_when
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facet_when:
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January 2001
facet_when
January 2001
facet_when
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facet_when:
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April 8, 2001
facet_when
April 8, 2001
facet_when
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facet_when:
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February 1, 2001
facet_when
February 1, 2001
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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1976
facet_when_year
1976
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2001
facet_when_year
2001
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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PIA03225
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03225
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA03225
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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