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Mars of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 1999 and March 1999
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Olympus Mons, 1998
| title |
Olympus Mons, 1998 |
| date |
04.25.1998 |
| description |
Olympus Mons is a mountain of mystery. Taller than three Mount Everests and about as wide as the entire Hawaiian Island chain, this giant volcano is nearly as flat as a pancake. That is, its flanks typically only slope 20 to 50. The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) obtained this spectacular wide-angle view of Olympus Mons on Mars Global Surveyor's 263rd orbit, around 10:40 p.m. PDT on April 25, 1998. In the view presented here, north is to the left and east is up. The spacecraft was traveling from north to south (left to right). Although the camera looks straight down (towards the nadir) and cannot be pointed to the side, the wide angle camera has such a large field of view (it sees from horizon to horizon) that, in effect, it provides side looking views. Unlike some other MOC images, that have had to be warped to provide a view as if seen from a certain direction and altitude, this image shows what the camera saw without additional processing. It is easy to imagine that you are looking out a window at the surface of Mars from about 900 km (560 miles) up. The image was taken on a cool, crisp winter morning. The west side of the volcano (lower portion of view, above) was clear and details on the surface appear very sharp. The skies above the plains to the east of Olympus Mons (upper portion of view) were cloudy. Clouds were lapping against the lower east flanks of this 26 kilometers (16 miles) high volcano, but the summit skies were clear. When Mars Global Surveyor attains its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC wide angle camera system will be used to make daily, global maps of martian clouds and weather systems. The wide angle images will resemble weather satellite pictures of Earth, and will help the Mars science teams plan their observations and test computer-driven Mars weather prediction models. 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. Image Note: This color picture was made using MOC red wide angle image 26301 and blue wide angle image 26302. The green channel was synthesized by averaging the red and blue bands. Color is not the true color of Mars as it would appear to the human eye (the actual colors would be more pale and contrast more subdued) *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Happy Face" Crater
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Happy Face" Crater |
| Description |
The story of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft began with a proposal to NASA in 1985. The first MOC flew on Mars Observer, a spacecraft that was lost before it reached the red planet in 1993. Now, after 14 years of effort, a MOC has finally been placed in the desired mapping orbit. The MOC team's happiness is perhaps best expressed by the planet Mars itself. On the first day of the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission--during the second week of March 1999--MOC was greeted with this view of "Happy Face Crater" (center right) smiling back at the camera from its location on the east side of Argyre Planitia. This crater is officially known as Galle Crater, and it is about 215 kilometers (134 miles) across. The picture was taken by the MOC's red and blue wide angle cameras. The bluish-white tone is caused by wintertime frost. Illumination is from the upper left. For more information and Viking Orbiter views of "Happy Face Crater," see http://www.msss.com/education/happy_face/happy_face.html [ http://www.msss.com/education/happy_face/happy_face.html ]. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Syrtis Major and Arabia Terr
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| title |
Syrtis Major and Arabia Terra |
| Description |
The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has, in fact, three cameras. The narrow angle system obtains monochrome (black-and-white) super-high resolution views of the red planet, while the wide angle system obtains regional and global views in both the red and blue portions of the visible spectrum (to make a color image, the red and blue are averaged to obtain the green channel). The picture shown here is a composite of 9 color strips taken by the MOC on 9 successive orbits from pole-to-pole over the planet during the calibration phase of the mission in March 1999. The large, circular bright region that dominates the scene is Arabia Terra. Syrtis Major is the dark region toward the lower right. The north polar cap is visible at the top, and the bright feature at the lower right is the Hellas Basin. The color in this picture is computer-enhanced and is not shown as it would actually appear to the human eye. 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. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Mid-Winter Dust Storms Near
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| title |
Mid-Winter Dust Storms Near Hellas Planitia |
| Description |
One of the primary objectives for the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the Extended Mission is to continue daily monitoring of martian weather as expressed in clouds, dust storms, and patches of polar frost. During the Primary Mission, which lasted from March 1999 through January 2001, changes that occurred over a single martian year (687 Earth days) were observed. Now it is possible to see what the martian atmosphere will do for at least two-thirds of a second martian year, because the Extended Mission will run into April 2002. This picture captures two dust storms, each large enough to cover Arizona or New Mexico. One is located near the lower left, the other at the lower right. Taken on April 8, 2001 (mid-southern winter), this is a mosaic of six MOC daily global images centered around Hellas Planitia in the martian southern hemisphere. Hellas Planitia is the dominant elliptical feature just below the center of the picture. The bright, nearly white surfaces along the lower (southern) edge of the picture are covered by wintertime frost. The strong temperature difference between the winter frost and the warmer air just off the edge of this polar cap generates winds that---at this time of year---are often strong enough to lift dust into large, reddish-brown, billowy clouds. North is up and sunlight illuminates the area from the upper left. The martian equator forms the arc along the top of the picture, 500 kilometers (km) is equal to about 311 miles. The approximately 500 kilometer-wide circular feature just above the center is the crater Huygens. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Highest-Resolution View of "
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| title |
Highest-Resolution View of "Face on Mars |
| Description |
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. An earlier picture obtained in June 2000 was combined with the new, April 2001 image, to produce a stereo ("3-D") view of the western portion of the hill ("3-D" glasses with red for left eye and blue for right eye are needed to view the anaglyph). The large "face" picture, above, covers an area about 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles) on a side, the 3-D picture [ http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/extended_may2001/face/index.html ] is about 1 km (0.62 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the images from the left/lower left. Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Martian North Polar Cap
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Martian North Polar Cap |
| Description |
Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera obtained its last SPO-2 images of Mars on September 12, 1998. SPO-2, or 'Science Phasing Orbit-2', took place between early June and mid-September 1998. Shown above are MOC wide angle (red and blue band) images of the martian north polar region obtained around 3:15 a.m. PDT on September 12, 1998. This color composite was made using red and blue wide angle MOC images 55001 and 55002--these were the last pictures taken of the planet until the camera resumes its work in late-March 1999. The north polar layered deposits, a terrain believed composed of ice and dust deposited over millions of years, dominates this view. The swirled pattern in the images above are channels eroded into this deposit. The pattern is accentuated by the illumination and seasonal frost differences that arise on sun-facing slopes during the summer. The permanent portion of the north polar cap covers most of the region with a layer of ice of unknown thickness. At the time this picture was obtained, the martian northern hemisphere was in the midst of the early Spring season. The margin of the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was at about 67° N, so the ground throughout this image is covered by frost. The frost appears pink rather than white, this may result from textural changes in the frost as it sublimes or because the frost is contaminated by a small amount of reddish martian dust. Please note that these pictures have not been 'calibrated' and so the colors are not necessarily accurately portrayed. In addition to the north polar cap, the pictures also show some clouds (bluish-white wisps). Some of the clouds on the right side of the images are long, linear features that cast similar long, dark shadows on the ground beneath them. When the MOC resumes imaging of Mars in March 1999, summer will have arrived in the north polar regions and the area surrounding the permanent polar cap will appear much darker than it does here. The dark features surrounding the cap are sand dunes, and these are expected to darken over the next several months as seasonal ice sublimes and is removed from the surface. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Sand Dunes of Nili Patera in
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| title |
Sand Dunes of Nili Patera in 3-D |
| Description |
The most exciting new 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. Opportunities to point the spacecraft come 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. A search for the missing Mars Polar Lander in late 1999 and early 2000 demonstrated that pointing the spacecraft could allow opportunities for MOC to see things that simply had not entered its field of view during typical nadir-looking operations, and to target areas previously seen in a nadir view so that stereo ("3-D") pictures could be derived. One of the very first places photographed by the MOC at the start of the Mapping Mission in March 1999 was a field of dunes located in Nili Patera, a volcanic depression in central Syrtis Major. A portion of this dune field was shown in a media release on March 11, 1999, "Sand Dunes of Nili Patera, Syrtis Major". Subsequently, the image was archived with the NASA Planetary Data System, as shown in the Malin Space Science Systems MOC Gallery. On April 24, 2001, an opportunity arose in which the MGS could be pointed off-nadir to take a new picture of the same dune field. By combining the nadir view from March 1999 and the off-nadir view from April 2001, a stereoscopic image was created. The anaglyph shown here must be viewed with red (left-eye) and blue (right-eye) "3-D" glasses. The dunes and the local topography of the volcanic crater's floor stand out in sharp relief. The images, taken more than one Mars year apart, show no change in the shape or location of the dunes---that is, they do not seem to have moved at all since March 1999. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Sand Dunes of Nili Patera, S
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| title |
Sand Dunes of Nili Patera, Syrtis Major |
| Description |
This dramatic image shows a field of dark sand dunes in the Nili Patera region of Syrtis Major. The shapes of these dunes indicate that wind has been steadily transporting the dark sand from the right/upper right toward the lower left. This picture was taken on the first day of the MGS Mapping Phase during the second week of March 1999. It shows an area 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) wide at the full commanded resolution of 3 meters per pixel. Illumination is from the upper left. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Olympus Mons, 1998
| title |
Olympus Mons, 1998 |
| Description |
Olympus Mons is a mountain of mystery. Taller than three Mount Everests and about as wide as the entire Hawaiian Island chain, this giant volcano is nearly as flat as a pancake. That is, its flanks typically only slope 2° to 5°. The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) obtained this spectacular wide-angle view of Olympus Mons on Mars Global Surveyor's 263rd orbit, around 10:40 p.m. PDT on April 25, 1998. In the view presented here, north is to the left and east is up. The spacecraft was traveling from north to south (left to right). Although the camera looks straight down (towards the nadir) and cannot be pointed to the side, the wide angle camera has such a large field of view (it sees from horizon to horizon) that, in effect, it provides side looking views. Unlike some other MOC images, that have had to be warped to provide a view as if seen from a certain direction and altitude, this image shows what the camera saw without additional processing. It is easy to imagine that you are looking out a window at the surface of Mars from about 900 km (560 miles) up. The image was taken on a cool, crisp winter morning. The west side of the volcano (lower portion of view, above) was clear and details on the surface appear very sharp. The skies above the plains to the east of Olympus Mons (upper portion of view) were cloudy. Clouds were lapping against the lower east flanks of this 26 kilometers (16 miles) high volcano, but the summit skies were clear. When Mars Global Surveyor attains its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC wide angle camera system will be used to make daily, global maps of martian clouds and weather systems. The wide angle images will resemble weather satellite pictures of Earth, and will help the Mars science teams plan their observations and test computer-driven Mars weather prediction models. 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. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Martian North Polar Cap on S
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PIA01471
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Martian North Polar Cap on September 12, 1998 (color) |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera obtained its last SPO-2 images of Mars on September 12, 1998. SPO-2, or "Science Phasing Orbit-2", took place between early June and mid-September 1998. Shown above are MOC wide angle (red and blue band) images of the martian north polar region obtained around 3:15 a.m. PDT on September 12, 1998. This color composite was made using red and blue wide angle MOC images 55001 and 55002--these were the last pictures taken of the planet until the camera resumes its work in late-March 1999. The north polar layered deposits, a terrain believed composed of ice and dust deposited over millions of years, dominates this view. The swirled pattern in the images above are channels eroded into this deposit. The pattern is accentuated by the illumination and seasonal frost differences that arise on sun-facing slopes during the summer. The permanent portion of the north polar cap covers most of the region with a layer of ice of unknown thickness. At the time this picture was obtained, the martian northern hemisphere was in the midst of the early Spring season. The margin of the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was at about 67° N, so the ground throughout this image is covered by frost. The frost appears pink rather than white, this may result from textural changes in the frost as it sublimes or because the frost is contaminated by a small amount of reddish martian dust. Please note that these pictures have not been "calibrated" and so the colors are not necessarily accurately portrayed. In addition to the north polar cap, the pictures also show some clouds (bluish-white wisps). Some of the clouds on the right side of the images are long, linear features that cast similar long, dark shadows on the ground beneath them. When the MOC resumes imaging of Mars in March 1999, summer will have arrived in the north polar regions and the area surrounding the permanent polar cap will appear much darker than it does here. The dark features surrounding the cap are sand dunes, and these are expected to darken over the next several months as seasonal ice sublimes and is removed from the surface. 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. |
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Mars Boulders: On a Hill in
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PIA01500
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Boulders: On a Hill in Utopia Planitia |
| Original Caption Released 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.,"landslides, 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. |
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Mars Boulders: On a Hill in
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PIA01500
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Boulders: On a Hill in Utopia Planitia |
| Original Caption Released 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.,"landslides, 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. |
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Early MOC Global Color Mosai
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PIA01673
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Early MOC Global Color Mosaics |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These two images are synthetic views of Mars made by combining Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle images from several orbits during the first week of March 1999--during MOC's focus and calibration testing period. The blue and red lines are the edges of the original pictures. Views such as these will be used throughout the MGS Mapping Mission to characterize the changing weather patterns on Mars. Right now, it is northern hemisphere summer on Mars, and the north polar ice cap can be seen at the top of each image. In the view on the left, thick blue-white afternoon water ice clouds can be seen surrounding and obscuring the northern-most of the large volcanoes of the Tharsis Montes region (left), and clouds can also be seen over Lunae Planum (center) and Chryse Planitia (center right). In the right image, faint clouds are seen over Arabia (center left bright region) with somewhat thicker clouds seen over Syrtis Major (dark, triangular region toward the right). Very thick southern winter clouds can be seen "ponded" within the Hellas Basin near the bottom of the frame. 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. |
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Mariner 4 Meets Mars Global
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PIA01685
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mariner 4 Meets Mars Global Surveyor--Mariner Crater 1965 and 1999 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Mars exploration in the last half of the 20th Century comes full circle with a modern view of Mariner Crater obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in early March 1999. Mariner 4 was the first spacecraft to reach the red planet and take close-up pictures that revealed its ancient, cratered surface. The picture on the left, above, is the 11th image taken by Mariner 4 during its July 1965 flyby. The center of the Mariner 4 image is dominated by a crater that is about 155 kilometers (96 miles) in diameter and located at 32°S latitude and 164°W longitude. The crater was named "Mariner" in 1967 by the International Astronomical Union in honor of its discovery by Mariner 4. The white arrow indicates the location of the new MGS MOC image. The picture on the right represents an improvement in resolution of almost a factor of 400. It shows a view of a tiny portion of the southeastern floor of Mariner Crater, as it appeared to the MGS MOC in 1999. In 1965, it was a surprise to find that the martian surface is pocked with craters. In 1999, using the MGS MOC, we now have the ability to see objects the size of automobiles on the martian surface. This view of the Mariner Crater floor has a spatial resolution of 1.5 meters(5 feet) per pixel and covers an area only 1.5 km (0.9 mi) wide by 2.2 km (1.4 mi)long. Illumination is from the upper left in both the Mariner and MGS images. For a mercator-projected Viking 1 Orbiter view of this crater (obtained in 1978)click here. 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. |
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High Resolution View of Nort
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PIA01677
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
High Resolution View of Northern Plains Surface |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Until now, the vast northern plains of Mars have largely eluded the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) because these plains were obscured by winter and springtime clouds during most of the 1997 and 1998 Aerobraking and Science Phasing portions of the MGS Mission. However, now in March 1999 it is summertime in the northern hemisphere of Mars, and the northern plains are clearly in view. This image was taken at a resolution of 3 meters (10 feet) per pixel in order to characterize the nature of these plains. The image is located near Lomonosov Crater on the Vastitas Borealis plain. The image shows a patterned surface with two distinct rings that are suspected to be the locations of buried impact craters. The larger such ring (right) has dark spots clustered in several patches along its margins--these are fields boulders and rocks. The image covers an area 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) across and is illuminated from the lower 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. |
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Boulder Tracks on Schiaparel
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PIA01680
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Boulder Tracks on Schiaparelli Basin South Wall |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The above Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of the slope just inside the south rim of the approximately 400 kilometer-(250 mile)-wide Schiaparelli Basin near the martian equator. The large white arrow points to a steep cliff exposure of dark-toned rock. The small white arrow points to one of several ~18 meter (59 feet) diameter boulders that apparently broke off the steep, dark cliff and rolled down the slope to the basin floor. Each boulder left behind a trail on the relatively soft, dusty slope. In addition, some of the boulders exhibit a bright wind streak pointing toward the lower left/center, indicating that these boulders have been sitting there long enough to influence local wind distribution of sediment. Before the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission, boulder tracks such as these had never been seen on Mars before, but in the 1960s and 1970s several examples on the Moon and Earth were documented. The picture shown here covers an area approximately 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) by 4.4 kilometers (2.7 miles). Illumination is from the lower left. The picture was acquired in January 1998 during the MGS Aerobrake-1 Orbits imaging campaign, and was presented at the 30th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, March 1999. 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. |
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Mars Surfaces at 15.6°N Lati
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PIA01672
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars Surfaces at 15.6°N Latitude, March 1999 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This set of 12 images was obtained during the period of Mars Orbiter Camera(MOC) focus tests and calibrations that executed in the first week of March 1999. Each picture was taken near 15.6°N latitude, which at this time was the sub-Earth point--the latitude at which Earth would be seen directly overhead if viewed from the ground. These pictures were obtained to provide a direct link between simultaneous Earth- and space-based telescope observations and the MOC. Each picture is shown at the full commanded resolution of 12 meters (39 feet) per pixel, and each covers an area 3 by 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) in size with illumination from the upper left. Typically, images that will be obtained by MOC during the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission will have resolutions of 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel--a factor of 8 improvement over the pictures shown here. 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. |
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Valleys on Northwest Flank o
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PIA01679
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Valleys on Northwest Flank of Alba Patera Volcano |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
In 1972, Mariner 9 images revealed a variety of branched and networked valleys on Alba Patera, a volcano in northern Tharsis. Since then, the question has always been, "what made these valleys, water or lava?" Because the Alba Patera volcano was considered to be a relatively young feature on Mars, it seemed that if waterways involved in the formation of the valleys, then it would imply that liquid water flowed on this part of Mars at a relatively recent time in the planet's history. Thus, it was hoped that Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), with its super-high resolution Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), would help answer this key question about evidence for past water on the red planet. However, when MOC peered down upon these valleys it became clear that the camera might not help answer the question of their origin. As the picture above shows, these valleys--which trend from lower right to upper left in the picture--are old and have been cut by younger faults that created graben--e.g., the wide, straight valley running diagonally from upper right to lower left. Worse, the close-up views revealed that the valleys are covered up by a lumpy-textured material that also partly fills nearby impact craters. The origin of the textured material is unknown but might result from years and years of wind erosion of surface "soil" or volcanic ash. However it formed, this covering obscures so much of the details of the valleys that high resolution pictures are unlikely to solve this mystery. The picture above covers an area approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) wide by 15 kilometers (9 miles) high. Illumination is from the right. The picture was acquired in August 1998 during the MGS Science Phasing Orbits imaging campaign, and was presented at the 30th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, Texas, March 1999. 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. |
|
Patches of Remnant Frost/Sno
…
PIA01688
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Patches of Remnant Frost/Snow on Crater Rim in Northern Summer |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
March 1999--it is summer in the martian northern hemisphere, yet patches of frost or snow persist in some areas of the northern plains. Winter ended eight months earlier, in July 1998. Recently, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) passed over a relatively small impact crater located at latitude 68°N (on the Vastitas Borealis plain, north of Utopia Planitia) and took the picture seen at the left, above. The curved crater rims are visible in the upper and lower quarters of the image, and the crater floor is visible at the center right. The picture on the right is a magnified view of the crater rim area outlined by a white box in the image on the left. The bright patches are snow or frost left over from the martian winter. These snowfields are so small that a human could walk across one of them in a matter of minutes--or perhaps sled down the small, sloping patch that is seen in a shadowed area near the lower left. In winter, the entire scene shown here would be covered by frost. The long strip at the left covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide by 26 km (16 mi) long. The expanded view on the right covers an area 2.9 km (1.8 mi) by 5.3 km (3.3 mi). Illumination is from the upper right. 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. |
|
Layers in Cratered Highland
…
PIA01682
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Layers in Cratered Highland Crust Exposed by Tagus Vallis |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)images of the Valles Marineris chasm walls [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/MENUS/marineris_list.html ] obtained early in the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission demonstrated that the upper martian crust--at least in the location of the Valles Marineris--is layered down to depths of several kilometers/miles. Over the past year, examination of additional MGS MOC images of other parts of Mars--including the vast, heavily cratered terrains of the red planet--also exhibit a layered crust. On Earth, geologists use the composition, texture, and sequence of layered rocks to decipher clues about the planet's history. Mars might offer a similar opportunity. Shown here is a picture of Tagus Vallis in the martian southern hemisphere. The picture on the left shows this valley in a view that is about 7 kilometers (4.4 miles)wide by 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) high. Tagus Vallis is the deep, steep-walled valley that runs almost diagonally from upper left to lower right. The white box shows the location of the magnified view of the valley walls on the right. Layered rock can be seen, exposed in the upper slopes of the valley. Bright sand dunes are visible on the valley floor (lower left) and on the upland plain (upper right). In this picture, the illumination is from the upper right. This image was obtained in April 1998 during the MGS Science Phasing Orbits imaging campaign. This result was presented at the 30th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston,Texas, March 1999. 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. |
|
Western Melas and Candor Cha
…
PIA01692
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Western Melas and Candor Chasms, Valles Marineris |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
During its March 1999 operations, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) captured this stunning wide-angle camera view of the western portions of Melas and Candor Chasms in the Valles Marineris canyon system. This view covers an area that is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and 220 kilometers (137 miles)long. Melas Chasma is located at the bottom of the image, Candor at the top. Hints of layers in the canyon walls are evident in this image. Color and albedo (brightness)variations on the floors of each chasm indicate the relative distribution of dark sand and brighter sediments and/or rocks. Dark sand on the floor of Melas Chasma was also seen by MOC in March 1999 (see MOC2-104) [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/3_25_99_melas/index.html ] and bright layered material was observed in Candor Chasma in April 1998 (see MOC2-59) [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/7_20_98_marineris_rel/index.html ]. The colors shown here are not true colors as they would appear to the human eye. The MOC has cameras that obtain images in red and blue portions of the visible spectrum, the green portion is synthesized using the combined average values of the red and blue channels (a relationship understood from Viking Orbiter imaging in the 1970s). Illumination is from the upper 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. |
|
Craters and Bright Dunes of
…
PIA01678
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Craters and Bright Dunes of Isidis Planitia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
In this first week of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)Mapping operations--i.e., early March 1999--seeing the red planet at 1.5 meters(5 feet) per pixel is quite a new and novel experience. This picture covers a 1.5 kilometer (0.9 miles) wide portion of Isidis Planitia. A person could walk across this scene in a matter of minutes. That person would encounter a variety of small, bright dunes that are perhaps only a few meters/yards high. Careful exploration would also show that the rims of the younger impact craters have rocks and boulders on them (e.g., see crater at center of the picture). Many more images of this quality and resolution lie ahead for MOC as it begins its 687-day Mapping mission. In this picture, the Sun's illumination is from the upper 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. |
|
Acidalia and Chryse Plains,
…
PIA02000
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Acidalia and Chryse Plains, Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Somewhere down there sits the Mars Pathfinder lander and Sojourner rover. This Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera view of the red planet shows the region that includes Ares Vallis and the Chryse Plains upon which both Mars Pathfinder and the Viking 1 landed in 1997 and 1976, respectively. Acidalia Planitia is the dark surface that dominates the center left. The Pathfinder site is immediately south of Acidalia, just left of center in this view. Also shown--the north polar cap is at the top, and Arabia Terra and Sinus Meridiani are to the right. The bluish-white features are clouds. This is a color composite of 9 red and 9 blue image strips taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera on 9 successive orbits from pole-to-pole during the calibration phase of the mission in March 1999. The color is computer-enhanced and is not shown as it would actually appear to the human eye. 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. |
|
Tharsis Volcanoes and Valles
…
PIA02005
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Tharsis Volcanoes and Valles Marineris, Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
It is northern summer on Mars and clouds are very common over the famous Tharsis volcanoes during the afternoon. At the far left, a white patchy cloud denotes the location of Olympus Mons. Ascraeus Mons is under the brightest cloud toward the center left, but the volcanoes Pavonis Mons and Arsia Mons (toward lower left below Ascraeus Mons) have much less cloud cover. The patch of clouds toward the upper left mark the location of the Alba Patera volcano. The Valles Marineris trough system--so long that it would stretch across North America--is seen in the lower third of this picture. This is a color composite of 9 red and 9 blue image strips taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera on 9 successive orbits from pole-to-pole during the calibration phase of the mission in March 1999. The color is computer-enhanced and is not shown as it would actually appear to the human eye. 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. |
|
Syrtis Major and Arabia Terr
…
PIA02004
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Syrtis Major and Arabia Terra, Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) has, in fact, three cameras. The narrow angle system obtains monochrome (black-and-white) super-high resolution views of the red planet, while the wide angle system obtains regional and global views in both the red and blue portions of the visible spectrum (to make a color image, the red and blue are averaged to obtain the green channel). The picture shown here is a composite of 9 color strips taken by the MOC on 9 successive orbits from pole-to-pole over the planet during the calibration phase of the mission in March 1999. The large, circular bright region that dominates the scene is Arabia Terra. Syrtis Major is the dark region toward the lower right. The north polar cap is visible at the top, and the bright feature at the lower right is the Hellas Basin. The color in this picture is computer-enhanced and is not shown as it would actually appear to the human eye. 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. |
|
MOC Providing Clues For Futu
…
PIA02064
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MOC Providing Clues For Future Landing Site Selection |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One of the original objectives of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when it was proposed to NASA in 1985 was to take pictures that would be used to assess future spacecraft landing sites. Images obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) MOC since March 1999 provide the highest resolution views (1.5 to 4.5 meters (5-15 ft) per pixel) of the planet ever seen. Over the past several months, MOC science personnel have been examining these new data to develop a general view of what Mars is like at the meter-scale within the general latitude and elevation range that will be accessible to the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/2001/index.html ]. (i.e., about 5°N to 15°S latitude and lower than 2.5 km (1.6 mi) elevation). Because MOC images only cover a tiny fraction of one percent of the surface of Mars, we have been seeking general correlations that exist between what is seen in a MOC high-resolution image and what can be seen in the lower-resolution Viking and Mariner 9 images taken in 1972 and 1976-1980. The most important results thus far are illustrated in the four pictures above. Nearly 70% of the terrain examined follows two very simple, but unexpected "rules" -- (1) If the terrain appears rugged at the hundreds of meters to kilometers scale in a Viking or Mariner image, then it will appear smooth at the meter-scale in a MOC image. (2) If the terrain appears to be smooth in the Viking or Mariner image, it will be rough in the meter-scale MOC image. The image pair above illustrates the second "rule." Areas that appear to be smooth in the Viking and Mariner images--as in MOC2-138a (left)--tend to look quite rough at the meter scale in MOC images like MOC2-138b (right). The rough texture in this particular case was probably cause by wind erosion. The Viking image shown here is illuminated from the upper right, while the MOC image is illuminated from the upper left. The MOC image was taken in April 1999, while the Viking image was obtained in the late 1970s. More details about this work are provided in an extended abstract (in Acrobat® PDF format) by M.C. Malin, K. S. Edgett, and T. J. Parker, "Characterization of terrain in the Mars Surveyor 2001 landing site latitude and elevation region using Mapping Phase Mars Global Surveyor MOC images," [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/6_25_99_landingsites/malin_buffalo_abs.pdf ] presented at the Second Mars Surveyor Landing Site Workshop, held June 22-23, 1999, in Buffalo, New York. 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. |
|
MOC Providing Clues For Futu
…
PIA02064
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MOC Providing Clues For Future Landing Site Selection |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One of the original objectives of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when it was proposed to NASA in 1985 was to take pictures that would be used to assess future spacecraft landing sites. Images obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) MOC since March 1999 provide the highest resolution views (1.5 to 4.5 meters (5-15 ft) per pixel) of the planet ever seen. Over the past several months, MOC science personnel have been examining these new data to develop a general view of what Mars is like at the meter-scale within the general latitude and elevation range that will be accessible to the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/2001/index.html ]. (i.e., about 5°N to 15°S latitude and lower than 2.5 km (1.6 mi) elevation). Because MOC images only cover a tiny fraction of one percent of the surface of Mars, we have been seeking general correlations that exist between what is seen in a MOC high-resolution image and what can be seen in the lower-resolution Viking and Mariner 9 images taken in 1972 and 1976-1980. The most important results thus far are illustrated in the four pictures above. Nearly 70% of the terrain examined follows two very simple, but unexpected "rules" -- (1) If the terrain appears rugged at the hundreds of meters to kilometers scale in a Viking or Mariner image, then it will appear smooth at the meter-scale in a MOC image. (2) If the terrain appears to be smooth in the Viking or Mariner image, it will be rough in the meter-scale MOC image. The image pair above illustrates the second "rule." Areas that appear to be smooth in the Viking and Mariner images--as in MOC2-138a (left)--tend to look quite rough at the meter scale in MOC images like MOC2-138b (right). The rough texture in this particular case was probably cause by wind erosion. The Viking image shown here is illuminated from the upper right, while the MOC image is illuminated from the upper left. The MOC image was taken in April 1999, while the Viking image was obtained in the late 1970s. More details about this work are provided in an extended abstract (in Acrobat® PDF format) by M.C. Malin, K. S. Edgett, and T. J. Parker, "Characterization of terrain in the Mars Surveyor 2001 landing site latitude and elevation region using Mapping Phase Mars Global Surveyor MOC images," [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/6_25_99_landingsites/malin_buffalo_abs.pdf ] presented at the Second Mars Surveyor Landing Site Workshop, held June 22-23, 1999, in Buffalo, New York. 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. |
|
MOC Providing Clues For Futu
…
PIA02063
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MOC Providing Clues For Future Landing Site Selection |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One of the original objectives of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when it was proposed to NASA in 1985 was to take pictures that would be used to assess future spacecraft landing sites. Images obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) MOC since March 1999 provide the highest resolution views (1.5 to 4.5 meters (5-15 ft) per pixel) of the planet ever seen. Over the past several months, MOC science personnel have been examining these new data to develop a general view of what Mars is like at the meter-scale within the general latitude and elevation range that will be accessible to the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/2001/index.html ]. (i.e., about 5°N to 15°S latitude and lower than 2.5 km (1.6 mi) elevation). Because MOC images only cover a tiny fraction of one percent of the surface of Mars, we have been seeking general correlations that exist between what is seen in a MOC high-resolution image and what can be seen in the lower-resolution Viking and Mariner 9 images taken in 1972 and 1976-1980. The most important results thus far are illustrated in the four pictures above. Nearly 70% of the terrain examined follows two very simple, but unexpected "rules" -- (1) If the terrain appears rugged at the hundreds of meters to kilometers scale in a Viking or Mariner image, then it will appear smooth at the meter-scale in a MOC image. (2) If the terrain appears to be smooth in the Viking or Mariner image, it will be rough in the meter-scale MOC image. The image pair above illustrates the first "rule." MOC2-137a (left) shows a rugged plain in the martian southern cratered highlands near the Nepenthes Mensae. The small white box indicates the location of the MOC image, which is on the right (MOC2-137b). The MOC image reveals that while the terrain is rough at the large scale, it is quite smooth at the meter-scale. The Viking image shown here is illuminated from the upper right, while the MOC image is illuminated from the upper left. The MOC image was taken in April 1999, while the Viking image was obtained in the late 1970s. More details about this work are provided in an extended abstract (in Acrobat® PDF format) by M.C. Malin, K. S. Edgett, and T. J. Parker, "Characterization of terrain in the Mars Surveyor 2001 landing site latitude and elevation region using Mapping Phase Mars Global Surveyor MOC images," [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/6_25_99_landingsites/malin_buffalo_abs.pdf ], presented at the Second Mars Surveyor Landing Site Workshop, held June 22-23, 1999, in Buffalo, New York. 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. |
|
MOC Providing Clues For Futu
…
PIA02063
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MOC Providing Clues For Future Landing Site Selection |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One of the original objectives of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) when it was proposed to NASA in 1985 was to take pictures that would be used to assess future spacecraft landing sites. Images obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) MOC since March 1999 provide the highest resolution views (1.5 to 4.5 meters (5-15 ft) per pixel) of the planet ever seen. Over the past several months, MOC science personnel have been examining these new data to develop a general view of what Mars is like at the meter-scale within the general latitude and elevation range that will be accessible to the Mars Surveyor 2001 lander [ http://marsweb.jpl.nasa.gov/2001/index.html ]. (i.e., about 5°N to 15°S latitude and lower than 2.5 km (1.6 mi) elevation). Because MOC images only cover a tiny fraction of one percent of the surface of Mars, we have been seeking general correlations that exist between what is seen in a MOC high-resolution image and what can be seen in the lower-resolution Viking and Mariner 9 images taken in 1972 and 1976-1980. The most important results thus far are illustrated in the four pictures above. Nearly 70% of the terrain examined follows two very simple, but unexpected "rules" -- (1) If the terrain appears rugged at the hundreds of meters to kilometers scale in a Viking or Mariner image, then it will appear smooth at the meter-scale in a MOC image. (2) If the terrain appears to be smooth in the Viking or Mariner image, it will be rough in the meter-scale MOC image. The image pair above illustrates the first "rule." MOC2-137a (left) shows a rugged plain in the martian southern cratered highlands near the Nepenthes Mensae. The small white box indicates the location of the MOC image, which is on the right (MOC2-137b). The MOC image reveals that while the terrain is rough at the large scale, it is quite smooth at the meter-scale. The Viking image shown here is illuminated from the upper right, while the MOC image is illuminated from the upper left. The MOC image was taken in April 1999, while the Viking image was obtained in the late 1970s. More details about this work are provided in an extended abstract (in Acrobat® PDF format) by M.C. Malin, K. S. Edgett, and T. J. Parker, "Characterization of terrain in the Mars Surveyor 2001 landing site latitude and elevation region using Mapping Phase Mars Global Surveyor MOC images," [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/6_25_99_landingsites/malin_buffalo_abs.pdf ], presented at the Second Mars Surveyor Landing Site Workshop, held June 22-23, 1999, in Buffalo, New York. 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. |
|
North Polar Region Dunes Foc
…
PIA01671
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
North Polar Region Dunes Focus Test Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
During the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) focus and calibration testing period in the first week of March 1999, small pictures of surfaces in the north polar region were used to check the quality of each change in the camera's focus. Some of these pictures showed the north polar permanent ice cap [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/3_10_99_focus/index.html ], while others provided a close-up view of some of the dark sand dunes that surround the north polar region. This picture shows the best example. The dunes here are dark and their slipfaces--the steep slope on the dune's lee side--is on the left of each dune, indicating wind transport from right to left in this particular location. The substrate between the dunes is bright and has a rough, bumpy texture. The picture covers an area 1000 meters (1094 yards) by 400 meters (437 yards). Illumination is from the lower right. 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. |
|
1.5 Meter Per Pixel View of
…
PIA01674
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
1.5 Meter Per Pixel View of Boulders in Ganges Chasma |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)spacecraft was designed to be able to take pictures that "bridge the gap" between what could be seen by the Mariner 9 and Viking Orbiters from space and what could be seen by landers from the ground. In other words, MOC was designed to be able to see boulders of sizes similar to and larger than those named "Yogi" at the Mars Pathfinder site and "Big Joe" at the Viking 1 landing site. To see such boulders, a resolution of at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) per pixel was required. With the start of the MGS Mapping Phase of the mission during the second week of March 1999, the MOC team is pleased to report that "the gap is bridged." This image shows a field of boulders on the surface of a landslide deposit in Ganges Chasma. Ganges Chasma is one of the valleys in the Valles Marineris canyon system. The image resolution is 1.5 meters per pixel. The boulders shown here range in size from about 2 meters (7 feet) to about 20 meters (66 feet) in size. The image covers an area 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) across, and illumination is from the upper 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. |
|
MOC's 200,000th Image
PIA07995
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MOC's 200,000th Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
3 June 2005 On 17 May 2005, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired its 200,000th image since the spacecraft began orbiting Mars on 12 September 1997. This image shows details on the floor and in the ejecta blanket of a northern middle-latitude martian crater, was received on Earth the following day. Its red wide angle context frame was also acquired at the same time (see PIA07996 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07996 ]). This image marks a milestone for the Mars Global Surveyor mission, which has returned nearly four times the number of images of both the Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, combined, in the late 1970s. An additional point of comparison, the two Viking camera systems returned about 70 Gbytes of data, MOC thus far has returned 365 Gbytes (after decompression). The MOC is really a system consisting of three cameras: (1) a narrow angle camera, essentially a telescope, that obtains extremely high resolution views ranging from about 0.5 to about 14 meters per pixel, (2) a red wide angle camera that is used to take context images, daily global maps, and other selected images, and (3) a blue wide angle camera that also acquires daily global maps, views of the martian limb, and other selected targets. Both wide angle cameras can obtain images with resolutions in the range of 0.24 to 7.5 kilometers per pixel. The first images acquired by MOC were taken during the third orbit of MGS on 15 September 1997. MGS conducted a pre-mission series of observations between mid-September 1997 and February 1999. Then, MGS conducted its 1 Mars year Primary Mission from March 1999 through January 2001. The Extended Mission phase for MGS began in February 2001 and continues to this day. "Location near": 32.7°N, 185.1°W "Image width": ~3 km (~1.9 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
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MOC's 200,001st Image
PIA07996
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
MOC's 200,001st Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
3 June 2005 On 17 May 2005, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) acquired its 200,000th image since the spacecraft began orbiting Mars on 12 September 1997. This red wide angle context frame was acquired at the same time as the narrow angle image (see PIA07995 [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA07995 ] showing details on the floor and in the ejecta blanket of a northern middle-latitude martian crater, which was received on Earth the previous day). This image marks a milestone for the Mars Global Surveyor mission, which has returned nearly four times the number of images of both the Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters, combined, in the late 1970s. An additional point of comparison, the two Viking camera systems returned about 70 Gbytes of data, MOC thus far has returned 365 Gbytes (after decompression). The MOC is really a system consisting of three cameras: (1) a narrow angle camera, essentially a telescope, that obtains extremely high resolution views ranging from about 0.5 to about 14 meters per pixel, (2) a red wide angle camera that is used to take context images, daily global maps, and other selected images, and (3) a blue wide angle camera that also acquires daily global maps, views of the martian limb, and other selected targets. Both wide angle cameras can obtain images with resolutions in the range of 0.24 to 7.5 kilometers per pixel. The first images acquired by MOC were taken during the third orbit of MGS on 15 September 1997. MGS conducted a pre-mission series of observations between mid-September 1997 and February 1999. Then, MGS conducted its 1 Mars year Primary Mission from March 1999 through January 2001. The Extended Mission phase for MGS began in February 2001 and continues to this day. "Location near": 32.7°N, 185.1°W "Image width": ~115 km (~71 mi) "Illumination from": lower left "Season": Northern Autumn |
|
Carbon Dioxide Landscape
PIA06367
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Carbon Dioxide Landscape |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
7 July 2004 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a mid-summer view of the south polar residual cap at full MOC resolution, 1.5 m (5 ft) per pixel. During each of the three summers since the start of the MGS mapping mission in March 1999, the scarps that form mesas and pits in the "Swiss cheese"-like south polar terrain have retreated an average of about 3 meters (~1 yard). The material is frozen carbon dioxide, another 3 meters or so of each scarp is expected to be removed during the next summer, in late 2005. This image is located near 86.0°S, 350.8°W, and covers an area about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the top/upper left. |
|
Solar Conjunction Ends: Nirg
…
PIA06886
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Solar Conjunction Ends: Nirgal Vallis |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
28 September 2004 For the past several weeks, Mars was on the other side of the Sun relative to Earth. During this period, known as solar conjunction, radio communication with spacecraft orbiting and roving on Mars was limited. As is always done during "solar conjunction", on 7 September 2004, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) was turned off. On Saturday, 25 September 2004, the MOC team gathered at Malin Space Science Systems to command the instrument to turn back on again. After a successful turn-on, MOC acquired its first narrow angle camera image, shown here, on orbit 24808 (24,808th orbit since the start of the Mapping phase of the MGS mission in March 1999). The 25 September image shows a portion of Nirgal Vallis, an ancient valley system in the Mare Erythraeum region of Mars. The valley floor is covered by large, ripple-like bedforms created by wind. This early southern winter image is located near 27.4°S, 42.9°W, and covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. This was the 4th solar conjunction period that MGS and MOC have been through since the spacecraft reached the red planet in September 1997. The four solar conjunction periods, where MOC was turned off, were: * First solar conjunction: 29 April - 1 June 1998 * Second solar conjunction: 22 June - 12 July 2000 * Third solar conjunction: 1 August - 18 August 2002 * Fourth solar conjunction: 7 September - 25 September 2004. In late October, MGS MOC will mark the start of its fourth Mars year since the beginning of the Mapping Phase of the mission in March 1999. MGS and MOC have already been orbiting Mars for more than 4 Mars years, including the pre-Mapping aerobrake and science phasing orbit insertion periods. |
|
Evidence for Recent Wind Act
…
PIA01495
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Wind Action on Martian Sand Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Recognizing that Mars is a desert planet, science fiction writers, scientists, and proponents of Mars exploration have, for decades, written and talked about "The Sands of Mars." The first martian sand dunes were observed by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1972. Ever since then, however, it has been unclear as to whether these dunes are active in today's extremely thin martian atmosphere (100 times thinner than on Earth at Sea Level), or if the dunes are the "fossil" remnants of a past epoch when the atmosphere was thicker and sand was more easily transported. This year, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, made some key observations that appear to indicate that some martian dunes are active today. In fact, some dunes probably experienced activity--wind blowing the sand around--as recently as mid-1998. Dunes typically contain granular fragments of rocks and minerals. These grains are usually 0.06 to 2 millimeters (0.002 to .08 inches)in size (which geologists call "sand"), and they are transported by the wind either by hopping over the ground (a process called "saltation") or rolling along the ground (called"traction"). Images from the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters of the 1970s did not have sufficient resolution to see detailed patterns of sand movement, although a few Viking images showed faint streaks emanating from a few dune fields, these were interpreted as "possible" indicators of sand movement. Mars Global Surveyor has taken many images of martian dunes. Some dunes appear to be inactive and covered with dust. Other dunes, however, show all of the characteristics of fresh, active dunes. The most exciting examples have been found among the dunes in the martian north polar region. The north polar cap of Mars (shown here in mosaics of Viking Orbiter 2images 065b56 and 065b58 of regional context andlocal context )is surrounded by a zone of dark("i.e.,", estimate the rate at which sand can be transported by wind under martian conditions. Since the MOC was turned off at the end of the Science Phasing Orbits in mid-September 1998, only about seven weeks (late-July to mid-September) were available to try to repeat an observation of a north polar dune field. Only once during this short span of time was there an opportunity to cross a dune field previously observed. A north polar dune field on the floor of an old impact crater was crossed by MOC twice--once on July 30, 1998, and again on September 2, 1998. However, it turned out that the two images crossed"outside" the dune field, near the crater rim. It is quite difficult to image the same location twice with the MOC, because it cannot be pointed in a desired direction--it only "sees" what is beneath it. Minor fluctuations in the spacecraft orbit and attitude--due to variations in the martian gravity field and to upper atmosphere drag and inaccuracies within the attitude control system--led to the offset crossing. The 1998 observations of the north polar dunes and other dune fields on Mars are quite tantalizing and appear to indicate that many dunes are active under present martian conditions. Confirmation of this result will await the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission, when it should be possible to take additional pictures of the same dune fields already observed by MOC. These new pictures will be compared with the ones from 1998 to see if any changes occurred. The Mapping Phase of the MGS mission is scheduled to commence in late-March 1999, and run for an entire martian year, into March 2001. The results of the initial MOC study of martian sand dune activity are given in a paper entitled "Activity of Mars Eolian Dunes: Observation of a Low-Albedo Dune Field At High Spatial Resolution by the Mars Global Surveyor Camera," by MSSS Staff Scientist Kenneth S. Edgett and MOC Principal Investigator, Michael C. Malin, presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting on October 29, 1998. 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., low albedo) dunes. These were first seen by Mariner 9 as a rippled texture, and by Viking as definitive sand dunes. Between late-July and mid-September 1998, the MGS periapsis (closest point in the spacecraft orbit relative to Mars) took the MOC right over the north polar dune fields four times a day. This provided many opportunities to take high resolution pictures of these dunes--resolutions that ranged from 1.5 to 5.0 meters (5 to 16 feet)per pixel. The very first images of these north polar dunes--one of which was released via the World Wide Web on August 7, 1998--showed that they were coated with thin, bright frost that was left-over from the northern winter season that ended in mid-July. The first images also showed small dark spots along the bases of many of the dunes. As more and higher-resolution images of the north polar dunes were taken, it became obvious that the dark spots on these dunes were areas where the seasonal frost coating had been removed--either by sublimation or by wind erosion--and that dark material was being exposed from underneath. The dark material was presumed to be the sediment that comprises the north polar dunes. Some of the dark spots have thin, dark streaks emanating from them. These dark streaks are interpreted to be the result of wind action. The simplest explanation is that gusts of wind have blown the dark sand out across the frost-covered dunes, creating a streak of deposited sand over the frost. Some spots, as in the image shown here, have multiple streaks, each one indicating a different wind gust that moved in a different direction. Because the frost that covers the north polar dunes can only be a few months old ("i.e.," northern winter lasted from mid-February 1998 to mid-July 1998), the dark streaks superposed on bright frost are clear indicators that dune material has been moved by the wind within recent months. The image shown here, MOC #50805, was taken on August 22, 1998. The streaks emanating from dark patches among the dunes in image 50805 must have formed sometime during 1998, and they most likely formed some time in July and/or August--once spring had begun in the northern hemisphere. The observation of dark spots and wind streaks among the north polar dunes led the MOC science team to attempt to image the same dunes more than once. If the dunes are indeed active, then it would be possible--it was hoped--to see changes from one image to the next. Such changes could be used to "(a)" confirm that the dunes are active and "(b)" |
|
Evidence for Recent Wind Act
…
PIA01495
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Wind Action on Martian Sand Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Recognizing that Mars is a desert planet, science fiction writers, scientists, and proponents of Mars exploration have, for decades, written and talked about "The Sands of Mars." The first martian sand dunes were observed by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1972. Ever since then, however, it has been unclear as to whether these dunes are active in today's extremely thin martian atmosphere (100 times thinner than on Earth at Sea Level), or if the dunes are the "fossil" remnants of a past epoch when the atmosphere was thicker and sand was more easily transported. This year, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, made some key observations that appear to indicate that some martian dunes are active today. In fact, some dunes probably experienced activity--wind blowing the sand around--as recently as mid-1998. Dunes typically contain granular fragments of rocks and minerals. These grains are usually 0.06 to 2 millimeters (0.002 to .08 inches)in size (which geologists call "sand"), and they are transported by the wind either by hopping over the ground (a process called "saltation") or rolling along the ground (called"traction"). Images from the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters of the 1970s did not have sufficient resolution to see detailed patterns of sand movement, although a few Viking images showed faint streaks emanating from a few dune fields, these were interpreted as "possible" indicators of sand movement. Mars Global Surveyor has taken many images of martian dunes. Some dunes appear to be inactive and covered with dust. Other dunes, however, show all of the characteristics of fresh, active dunes. The most exciting examples have been found among the dunes in the martian north polar region. The north polar cap of Mars (shown here in mosaics of Viking Orbiter 2images 065b56 and 065b58 of regional context andlocal context )is surrounded by a zone of dark("i.e.,", estimate the rate at which sand can be transported by wind under martian conditions. Since the MOC was turned off at the end of the Science Phasing Orbits in mid-September 1998, only about seven weeks (late-July to mid-September) were available to try to repeat an observation of a north polar dune field. Only once during this short span of time was there an opportunity to cross a dune field previously observed. A north polar dune field on the floor of an old impact crater was crossed by MOC twice--once on July 30, 1998, and again on September 2, 1998. However, it turned out that the two images crossed"outside" the dune field, near the crater rim. It is quite difficult to image the same location twice with the MOC, because it cannot be pointed in a desired direction--it only "sees" what is beneath it. Minor fluctuations in the spacecraft orbit and attitude--due to variations in the martian gravity field and to upper atmosphere drag and inaccuracies within the attitude control system--led to the offset crossing. The 1998 observations of the north polar dunes and other dune fields on Mars are quite tantalizing and appear to indicate that many dunes are active under present martian conditions. Confirmation of this result will await the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission, when it should be possible to take additional pictures of the same dune fields already observed by MOC. These new pictures will be compared with the ones from 1998 to see if any changes occurred. The Mapping Phase of the MGS mission is scheduled to commence in late-March 1999, and run for an entire martian year, into March 2001. The results of the initial MOC study of martian sand dune activity are given in a paper entitled "Activity of Mars Eolian Dunes: Observation of a Low-Albedo Dune Field At High Spatial Resolution by the Mars Global Surveyor Camera," by MSSS Staff Scientist Kenneth S. Edgett and MOC Principal Investigator, Michael C. Malin, presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting on October 29, 1998. 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., low albedo) dunes. These were first seen by Mariner 9 as a rippled texture, and by Viking as definitive sand dunes. Between late-July and mid-September 1998, the MGS periapsis (closest point in the spacecraft orbit relative to Mars) took the MOC right over the north polar dune fields four times a day. This provided many opportunities to take high resolution pictures of these dunes--resolutions that ranged from 1.5 to 5.0 meters (5 to 16 feet)per pixel. The very first images of these north polar dunes--one of which was released via the World Wide Web on August 7, 1998--showed that they were coated with thin, bright frost that was left-over from the northern winter season that ended in mid-July. The first images also showed small dark spots along the bases of many of the dunes. As more and higher-resolution images of the north polar dunes were taken, it became obvious that the dark spots on these dunes were areas where the seasonal frost coating had been removed--either by sublimation or by wind erosion--and that dark material was being exposed from underneath. The dark material was presumed to be the sediment that comprises the north polar dunes. Some of the dark spots have thin, dark streaks emanating from them. These dark streaks are interpreted to be the result of wind action. The simplest explanation is that gusts of wind have blown the dark sand out across the frost-covered dunes, creating a streak of deposited sand over the frost. Some spots, as in the image shown here, have multiple streaks, each one indicating a different wind gust that moved in a different direction. Because the frost that covers the north polar dunes can only be a few months old ("i.e.," northern winter lasted from mid-February 1998 to mid-July 1998), the dark streaks superposed on bright frost are clear indicators that dune material has been moved by the wind within recent months. The image shown here, MOC #50805, was taken on August 22, 1998. The streaks emanating from dark patches among the dunes in image 50805 must have formed sometime during 1998, and they most likely formed some time in July and/or August--once spring had begun in the northern hemisphere. The observation of dark spots and wind streaks among the north polar dunes led the MOC science team to attempt to image the same dunes more than once. If the dunes are indeed active, then it would be possible--it was hoped--to see changes from one image to the next. Such changes could be used to "(a)" confirm that the dunes are active and "(b)" |
|
Evidence for Recent Wind Act
…
PIA01495
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Wind Action on Martian Sand Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Recognizing that Mars is a desert planet, science fiction writers, scientists, and proponents of Mars exploration have, for decades, written and talked about "The Sands of Mars." The first martian sand dunes were observed by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1972. Ever since then, however, it has been unclear as to whether these dunes are active in today's extremely thin martian atmosphere (100 times thinner than on Earth at Sea Level), or if the dunes are the "fossil" remnants of a past epoch when the atmosphere was thicker and sand was more easily transported. This year, the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, made some key observations that appear to indicate that some martian dunes are active today. In fact, some dunes probably experienced activity--wind blowing the sand around--as recently as mid-1998. Dunes typically contain granular fragments of rocks and minerals. These grains are usually 0.06 to 2 millimeters (0.002 to .08 inches)in size (which geologists call "sand"), and they are transported by the wind either by hopping over the ground (a process called "saltation") or rolling along the ground (called"traction"). Images from the Mariner 9 and Viking orbiters of the 1970s did not have sufficient resolution to see detailed patterns of sand movement, although a few Viking images showed faint streaks emanating from a few dune fields, these were interpreted as "possible" indicators of sand movement. Mars Global Surveyor has taken many images of martian dunes. Some dunes appear to be inactive and covered with dust. Other dunes, however, show all of the characteristics of fresh, active dunes. The most exciting examples have been found among the dunes in the martian north polar region. The north polar cap of Mars (shown here in mosaics of Viking Orbiter 2images 065b56 and 065b58 of regional context andlocal context )is surrounded by a zone of dark("i.e.,", estimate the rate at which sand can be transported by wind under martian conditions. Since the MOC was turned off at the end of the Science Phasing Orbits in mid-September 1998, only about seven weeks (late-July to mid-September) were available to try to repeat an observation of a north polar dune field. Only once during this short span of time was there an opportunity to cross a dune field previously observed. A north polar dune field on the floor of an old impact crater was crossed by MOC twice--once on July 30, 1998, and again on September 2, 1998. However, it turned out that the two images crossed"outside" the dune field, near the crater rim. It is quite difficult to image the same location twice with the MOC, because it cannot be pointed in a desired direction--it only "sees" what is beneath it. Minor fluctuations in the spacecraft orbit and attitude--due to variations in the martian gravity field and to upper atmosphere drag and inaccuracies within the attitude control system--led to the offset crossing. The 1998 observations of the north polar dunes and other dune fields on Mars are quite tantalizing and appear to indicate that many dunes are active under present martian conditions. Confirmation of this result will await the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission, when it should be possible to take additional pictures of the same dune fields already observed by MOC. These new pictures will be compared with the ones from 1998 to see if any changes occurred. The Mapping Phase of the MGS mission is scheduled to commence in late-March 1999, and run for an entire martian year, into March 2001. The results of the initial MOC study of martian sand dune activity are given in a paper entitled "Activity of Mars Eolian Dunes: Observation of a Low-Albedo Dune Field At High Spatial Resolution by the Mars Global Surveyor Camera," by MSSS Staff Scientist Kenneth S. Edgett and MOC Principal Investigator, Michael C. Malin, presented at the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting on October 29, 1998. 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., low albedo) dunes. These were first seen by Mariner 9 as a rippled texture, and by Viking as definitive sand dunes. Between late-July and mid-September 1998, the MGS periapsis (closest point in the spacecraft orbit relative to Mars) took the MOC right over the north polar dune fields four times a day. This provided many opportunities to take high resolution pictures of these dunes--resolutions that ranged from 1.5 to 5.0 meters (5 to 16 feet)per pixel. The very first images of these north polar dunes--one of which was released via the World Wide Web on August 7, 1998--showed that they were coated with thin, bright frost that was left-over from the northern winter season that ended in mid-July. The first images also showed small dark spots along the bases of many of the dunes. As more and higher-resolution images of the north polar dunes were taken, it became obvious that the dark spots on these dunes were areas where the seasonal frost coating had been removed--either by sublimation or by wind erosion--and that dark material was being exposed from underneath. The dark material was presumed to be the sediment that comprises the north polar dunes. Some of the dark spots have thin, dark streaks emanating from them. These dark streaks are interpreted to be the result of wind action. The simplest explanation is that gusts of wind have blown the dark sand out across the frost-covered dunes, creating a streak of deposited sand over the frost. Some spots, as in the image shown here, have multiple streaks, each one indicating a different wind gust that moved in a different direction. Because the frost that covers the north polar dunes can only be a few months old ("i.e.," northern winter lasted from mid-February 1998 to mid-July 1998), the dark streaks superposed on bright frost are clear indicators that dune material has been moved by the wind within recent months. The image shown here, MOC #50805, was taken on August 22, 1998. The streaks emanating from dark patches among the dunes in image 50805 must have formed sometime during 1998, and they most likely formed some time in July and/or August--once spring had begun in the northern hemisphere. The observation of dark spots and wind streaks among the north polar dunes led the MOC science team to attempt to image the same dunes more than once. If the dunes are indeed active, then it would be possible--it was hoped--to see changes from one image to the next. Such changes could be used to "(a)" confirm that the dunes are active and "(b)" |
|
Candor Chasma - Massive (non
…
PIA01460
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Candor Chasma - Massive (non-layered) material expos |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One of the most striking discoveries of the Mars Global Surveyor mission has been the identification of thousands of meters/feet of layers within the wall rock of the enormous martian canyon system, Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris was first observed in 1972 by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, from which the troughs get their name: Valles--valleys, Marineris--Mariner. Some hints of layering in both the canyon walls and within some deposits on the canyon floors were seen in Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images from the 1970s. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board Mars Global Surveyor has been examining these layers at much higher resolution than was available previously. MOC images led to the realization that there are layers in the walls that go down to great depths. An example of the wall rock layers can be seen in MOC image 8403, shown above (C). MOC images also reveal amazing layered outcrops on the floors of some of the Valles Marineris canyons. Particularly noteworthy is MOC image 23304 (D, above), which shows extensive, horizontally-bedded layers exposed in buttes and mesas on the floor of western Candor Chasma. These layered rocks might be the same material as is exposed in the chasm walls (as in 8403--C, above), or they might be rocks that formed by deposition (from water, wind, and/or volcanism) long after Candor Chasma opened up. In addition to layered materials in the walls and on the floors of the Valles Marineris system, MOC images are helping to refine our classification of geologic features that occur within the canyons. For example, MOC image 25205 (E, above), shows the southern tip of a massive, tongue-shaped massif (a mountainous ridge) that was previously identified as a layered deposit. However, this MOC image does not show layering. The material has been sculpted by wind and mass-wasting--downslope movement of debris--but no obvious layers were exposed by these processes. Valles Marineris a fascinating region on Mars that holds much potential to reveal information about the early history and evolution of the red planet. The MOC Science Team is continuing to examine the wealth of new data and planning for new Valles Marineris targets once the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission commences in March 1999. This image: Massive (non-layered) material exposed in central Candor Chasma. MOC image 25205 subframe shown at 11.7 meters (38.4 feet) per pixel resolution. Image shows the southern tip of a massive "interior deposit" that points like a giant tongue from Ophir Chasma (to the north) down into the center of Candor Chasma. The ridged and grooved bright unit is the "interior deposit". South of this ridged unit is a low elevation surface mantled by dark dunes and sand. Image covers an area approximately 5.7 by 5.7 kilometers (3.5 x 3.5 miles). North is approximately up, illumination is from the lower right. Image 25205 was obtained during Mars Global Surveyor's 252nd orbit at 2:45 p.m. (PDT) on April 20, 1998. 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. |
|
Western Candor Chasma, Valle
…
PIA01458
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Western Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO., One of the most striking discoveries of the Mars Global Surveyor mission has been the identification of thousands of meters/feet of layers within the wall rock of the enormous martian canyon system, Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris was first observed in 1972 by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, from which the troughs get their name: Valles--valleys, Marineris--Mariner. Some hints of layering in both the canyon walls and within some deposits on the canyon floors were seen in Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images from the 1970s. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board Mars Global Surveyor has been examining these layers at much higher resolution than was available previously. MOC images led to the realization that there are layers in the walls that go down to great depths. An example of the wall rock layers can be seen in MOC image 8403, shown above (C). MOC images also reveal amazing layered outcrops on the floors of some of the Valles Marineris canyons. Particularly noteworthy is MOC image 23304 (D, above), which shows extensive, horizontally-bedded layers exposed in buttes and mesas on the floor of western Candor Chasma. These layered rocks might be the same material as is exposed in the chasm walls (as in 8403--C, above), or they might be rocks that formed by deposition (from water, wind, and/or volcanism) long after Candor Chasma opened up. In addition to layered materials in the walls and on the floors of the Valles Marineris system, MOC images are helping to refine our classification of geologic features that occur within the canyons. For example, MOC image 25205 (E, above), shows the southern tip of a massive, tongue-shaped massif (a mountainous ridge) that was previously identified as a layered deposit. However, this MOC image does not show layering. The material has been sculpted by wind and mass-wasting--downslope movement of debris--but no obvious layers were exposed by these processes. Valles Marineris a fascinating region on Mars that holds much potential to reveal information about the early history and evolution of the red planet. The MOC Science Team is continuing to examine the wealth of new data and planning for new Valles Marineris targets once the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission commences in March 1999. This image: Layers in western Candor Chasma northern wall. MOC image 8403 subframe shown at full resolution of 4.6 meters (15 feet) per pixel. The image shows an area approximately 2.4 by 2.5 kilometers (1.5 x 1.6 miles). North is up, illumination is from the left. Image 8403 was obtained during Mars Global Surveyor's 84th orbit at 10:12 p.m. (PST) on January 6, 1998. 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 |
|
Western Candor Chasma - Laye
…
PIA01459
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Western Candor Chasma - Layers exposed near the middle |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One of the most striking discoveries of the Mars Global Surveyor mission has been the identification of thousands of meters/feet of layers within the wall rock of the enormous martian canyon system, Valles Marineris. Valles Marineris was first observed in 1972 by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, from which the troughs get their name: Valles--valleys, Marineris--Mariner. Some hints of layering in both the canyon walls and within some deposits on the canyon floors were seen in Mariner 9 and Viking orbiter images from the 1970s. The Mars Orbiter Camera on board Mars Global Surveyor has been examining these layers at much higher resolution than was available previously. MOC images led to the realization that there are layers in the walls that go down to great depths. An example of the wall rock layers can be seen in MOC image 8403, shown above (C). MOC images also reveal amazing layered outcrops on the floors of some of the Valles Marineris canyons. Particularly noteworthy is MOC image 23304 (D, above), which shows extensive, horizontally-bedded layers exposed in buttes and mesas on the floor of western Candor Chasma. These layered rocks might be the same material as is exposed in the chasm walls (as in 8403--C, above), or they might be rocks that formed by deposition (from water, wind, and/or volcanism) long after Candor Chasma opened up. In addition to layered materials in the walls and on the floors of the Valles Marineris system, MOC images are helping to refine our classification of geologic features that occur within the canyons. For example, MOC image 25205 (E, above), shows the southern tip of a massive, tongue-shaped massif (a mountainous ridge) that was previously identified as a layered deposit. However, this MOC image does not show layering. The material has been sculpted by wind and mass-wasting--downslope movement of debris--but no obvious layers were exposed by these processes. Valles Marineris a fascinating region on Mars that holds much potential to reveal information about the early history and evolution of the red planet. The MOC Science Team is continuing to examine the wealth of new data and planning for new Valles Marineris targets once the Mapping Phase of the Mars Global Surveyor mission commences in March 1999. Layers exposed near the middle of western Candor Chasma. MOC image 23304 subframe shown at 10.7 meters (35 feet) per pixel. Two layered buttes (upper right and lower right) and a layered or stepped mesa (center right) are shown. The image covers an area approximately 5.5 by 5.5 kilometers (3.4 x 3.4 miles). North is approximately up, illumination is from the lower right. Image 23304 was obtained during Mars Global Surveyor's 233rd orbit at 9:23 a.m. (PDT) on April 11, 1998. 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. |
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Martian North Polar Cap on S
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PIA01472
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Martian North Polar Cap on September 12, 1998 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Mars Global Surveyor's Mars Orbiter Camera obtained its last SPO-2 images of Mars on September 12, 1998. SPO-2, or "Science Phasing Orbit-2", took place between early June and mid-September 1998. Shown above are MOC wide angle (red and blue band) images of the martian north polar region obtained around 3:15 a.m. PDT on September 12, 1998. This image, MOC image 55001, was one of the last pictures taken of the planet until the camera resumes its work in late-March 1999. The north polar layered deposits, a terrain believed composed of ice and dust deposited over millions of years, dominates this view. The swirled pattern in the images above are channels eroded into this deposit. The pattern is accentuated by the illumination and seasonal frost differences that arise on sun-facing slopes during the summer. The permanent portion of the north polar cap covers most of the region with a layer of ice of unknown thickness. At the time this picture was obtained, the martian northern hemisphere was in the midst of the early Spring season. The margin of the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was at about 67° N, so the ground throughout this image is covered by frost. The frost appears pink rather than white, this may result from textural changes in the frost as it sublimes or because the frost is contaminated by a small amount of reddish martian dust. Please note that these pictures have not been "calibrated" and so the colors are not necessarily accurately portrayed. In addition to the north polar cap, the pictures also show some clouds. Some of the clouds on the right side of the images are long, linear features that cast similar long, dark shadows on the ground beneath them. When the MOC resumes imaging of Mars in March 1999, summer will have arrived in the north polar regions and the area surrounding the permanent polar cap will appear much darker than it does here. The dark features surrounding the cap are sand dunes, and these are expected to darken over the next several months as seasonal ice sublimes and is removed from the surface. 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. |
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Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
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Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
|
Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
|
Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
|
Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
|
Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
|
Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
|
Evidence for Recent Liquid W
…
PIA01036
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Evidence for Recent Liquid Water on Mars: Seepage Sites in "Aerobraking Crater" Revisited |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first clue that there might be places on Mars where liquid groundwater seeps out onto the surface came from a picture taken by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) during the pre-mapping Orbit Insertion Phase of the mission. The picture, shown in (A)above, was taken at the end of December 1997 while the spacecraft was still in the midst of aerobraking maneuvers to put it into the circular orbit needed for the Mapping Phase of the project. The Aerobraking 1 image, AB1-07707, showed dark, v-shaped scars on the western wall of a 50 kilometer-(31 mile)-diameter impact crater in southern Noachis Terra at 65°S, 15°W (see B, above, for context). The v-shaped features taper downslope to form narrow, somewhat curved channels. The relationship seen here was interpreted by MOC scientists to be similar to seepage landforms on Earth that form where springs emerge on a slope and water runs downhill. Once MGS achieved its Mapping Orbit in March 1999, the MOC was in a better position to take pictures of 10 times higher resolution than the Aerobraking AB1-07707 image. The opportunity to take a new picture of the proposed "seepage" sites on the wall of the crater in southern Noachis finally arose in January 2000. The result is MOC image M11-00530, shown above in (top) and (C). This new close-up shows that the darkly-shaped scars host many small channels of only a few meters (yards) across. These small channels run downslope and coalesce at the apex (or point) of each "v". Amid the small channels are many large boulders, some of them the size of houses, that have eroded out of the crater wall. A 3-D view created using the AB1 and M11 images is shown in (D). The stereo picture (red-blue "3D" glasses required) emphasizes the presence of small channels and valleys, and shows that these valleys start almost at the very top of the v-shaped dark areas. The context picture in (B) is a mosaic of Viking 2 orbiter images 497B47 and 497B48 acquired December 28, 1977. The Aerobraking MGS MOC image, AB1-07707, is shown overlain on the Viking context image, it was taken 20 years later on December 29, 1997. The smaller white box in the context picture shows the location of MOC Mapping Phase image M11-00530, roughly 2 years later on January 4, 2000. North is "up" in pictures (A) and (B), and to the lower right in (top), (C), and (D). Sunlight illuminates (A) from the upper left, (B) from the upper right, and (top) and (C) from the upper right. The top image in (top) is the aerobraking image, AB1-07707, with a white box indicating the location of the lower image, M11-00530, and the stereo pair in (D). The white box on the left in (C) shows the location of the close-up on the right in (C). |
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