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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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Frosty Dunes
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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12 April 2006
Today, the MOC Team celebrates the 45th anniversary of the first human flight into space, that of Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961, and the 25th anniversary of the first NASA Space Shuttle flight on 12 April 1981, by briefly pondering the wonders of our Solar System and the opportunities of the age in which we live. Although humans have not ventured to the Moon in more than 30 years, and have not yet gone to Mars, we can all go there through the eyes of our robotic explorers.
Mars, perhaps the most Earth-like (yet so very different!) planet in our star's system, is tilted on its axis by about 25°-not all that different than Earth's ~23.5°. Thus, Mars, like Earth, experiences a changing of seasons as the planet revolves around the Sun. At high latitudes in each hemisphere during autumn and winter, carbon dioxide frost accumulates on the surface.
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes covered and delineated by seasonal frost in the north polar region of Mars. The winds responsible for the formation of these dunes blew primarily from the northwest (upper left), with additional influences from the north and northeast. During the late spring and summer seasons, these dunes would look much darker than their surroundings, but in this late winter image, the dunes and the plains on which they occur are all covered with carbon dioxide frost.
Location near: 78.4°N, 76.7°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Winter
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
12 April 2006
Today, the MOC Team celebrates the 45th anniversary of the first human flight into space, that of Yuri Gagarin on 12 April 1961, and the 25th anniversary of the first NASA Space Shuttle flight on 12 April 1981, by briefly pondering the wonders of our Solar System and the opportunities of the age in which we live. Although humans have not ventured to the Moon in more than 30 years, and have not yet gone to Mars, we can all go there through the eyes of our robotic explorers.
Mars, perhaps the most Earth-like (yet so very different!) planet in our star's system, is tilted on its axis by about 25°-not all that different than Earth's ~23.5°. Thus, Mars, like Earth, experiences a changing of seasons as the planet revolves around the Sun. At high latitudes in each hemisphere during autumn and winter, carbon dioxide frost accumulates on the surface.
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes covered and delineated by seasonal frost in the north polar region of Mars. The winds responsible for the formation of these dunes blew primarily from the northwest (upper left), with additional influences from the north and northeast. During the late spring and summer seasons, these dunes would look much darker than their surroundings, but in this late winter image, the dunes and the plains on which they occur are all covered with carbon dioxide frost.
Location near: 78.4°N, 76.7°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Winter
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
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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836 samples x 1734 lines
Product_Size
836 samples x 1734 lines
Product Size
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Producer ID:
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MOC2-1430
Producer_ID
MOC2-1430
Producer ID
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facet_who:
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Yuri Gagarin
facet_who
Yuri Gagarin
facet_who
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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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Moon
facet_what
Moon
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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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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Surveyor
facet_what
Surveyor
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Space Shuttle Orbiter
facet_what
Space Shuttle Orbiter
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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12 April 2006
facet_when
12 April 2006
facet_when
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facet_when:
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12 April 1961
facet_when
12 April 1961
facet_when
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facet_when:
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12 April 1981
facet_when
12 April 1981
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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1981
facet_when_year
1981
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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2006
facet_when_year
2006
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1961
facet_when_year
1961
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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PIA08069
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08069
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA08069
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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