Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Springtime Dunes, 2004
Original Caption Released with Image:
12 April 2004
Today is April 12, 2004, the 43rd anniversary of the first human flight into space (Yuri Gagarin, 1961) and the 23rd anniversary of the first NASA Space Shuttle flight (Columbia, 1981). Meanwhile, on Mars, spring is in full swing in the martian northern hemisphere. With spring comes the annual defrosting of the north polar dunes. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image, acquired on April 7, 2004, shows a field of small barchan (crescent-shaped) dunes covered with the remains of wintertime frost. The dark spots around the base of each dune mark the first signs of the spring thaw. The sand in these dunes is dark, like the black sand beaches of Hawaii or the dark, sandy soil of the rover, Opportunity, landing site, but in winter and spring their dark tone is obscured by bright carbon dioxide frost. This picture is located near 75.9°N, 45.3°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.
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:
512 samples x 1259 lines
Producer ID:
MOC2-694
facet_who:
Yuri Gagarin
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Polar
facet_what:
Mars
facet_what:
Opportunity
facet_what:
Surveyor
facet_what:
Space Shuttle Orbiter
facet_what:
Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter (MGS)
facet_what:
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
facet_what:
Columbia
facet_where:
Mars
facet_where:
Hawaii
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_when:
12 April 2004
facet_when:
April 12, 2004
facet_when:
April 7, 2004
facet_when_year:
2004
Image #:
PIA05741
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA05741
orignial url:

Springtime Dunes, 2004