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Surveyor of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from 2003
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Mars River Delta?
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Mars River Delta? |
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A high-resolution TIFF file of this image is available at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04869. Details in a fan-shaped deposit discovered by NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter provide evidence that some ancient rivers on Mars flowed for a long time, not just in brief, intense floods. The apron of debris filling the middle of this picture from the spacecraft's Mars Orbiter Camera is a hardened and eroded distributory fan, a type of geological feature that includes river deltas and alluvial fans. Sediments transported through valleys by water on early Mars formed the 13-kilometer-long (8-mile) deposit in the distant past, when it was still possible for liquid water to flow across the martian surface. Mars Orbiter Camera team members published discovery of this feature in the online edition of the journal Science. What is important about it? First, it provides unequivocal evidence that some valleys on Mars experienced persistent flow over considerable periods of time, as rivers do on Earth. Second, because the fan is today a deposit of sedimentary rock, it demonstrates that some sedimentary rocks on Mars were deposited in a liquid environment. Third, the fan's general shape, the pattern of its channels, and its low slopes provide circumstantial evidence that the feature was an actual delta -- that is, a deposit made when a river or stream enters a body of water. If so, this landform is a strong indicator that some craters and basins on Mars once held lakes. Hundreds of other locations on Mars where valleys enter craters and basins have been imaged by the Mars Orbiter Camera, but none has shown landforms like those presented here. The picture is a mosaic of images acquired between August 2000 and September 2003. The area covered 14 kilometer (8.7 miles) by 19.3 kilometers (12 miles). North is up. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. The spacecraft's narrow-angle camera takes grayscale images, the color added is based on information from a camera on Mars Odyssey. The fan is in an unnamed crater that is 64 kilometers (40 miles) in diameter, at 24.3 degrees south latitude, 33.5 degrees west longitude. The crater lies northeast of a larger one named Holden Crater. The fan is a fossil landform. That is, it is an eroded remnant of a somewhat larger and thicker deposit. The originally loose sediment was turned to rock and then eroded over time to present the features seen today. The channels through which sediment was transported are no longer present. Instead, only their floors remain, and these have been elevated by erosion so that former channels now stand as ridges. The floors of former channels became inverted in this way because they were more resistant to the forces of erosion, indicating they either were more strongly cemented than surrounding materials, or they have more coarse grains (which are harder to remove), or both. *Image Credit*: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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Earth and Moon as Viewed fro
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Earth and Moon as Viewed from Mars |
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This is the first image of Earth ever taken from another planet that actually shows our home as a planetary disk. Because Earth and the Moon are closer to the Sun than Mars, they exhibit phases, just as the Moon, Venus, and Mercury do when viewed from Earth. As seen from Mars by the NASA Mars Global Surveyor on May 8, 2003, at 13:00 GMT (6:00 a.m. PDT), Earth and the Moon appeared in the evening sky. This Earth/Moon image has been specially processed to allow both Earth (with an apparent magnitude of -2.5) and the much darker Moon (with an apparent magnitude of +0.9) to be visible together. The bright area at the top of the image of Earth is cloud cover over central and eastern North America. Below that, a darker area includes Central America and the Gulf of Mexico. The bright feature near the center right of the crescent Earth consists of clouds over northern South America. The image also shows the Earth-facing hemisphere of the Moon, since the Moon was on the far side of Earth as viewed from Mars. The slightly lighter tone of the lower portion of the image of the Moon results from the large and conspicuous ray system associated with the crater Tycho. A note about the coloring process: The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbital Camera (MOC, a high-resolution camera) only takes grayscale (black-and-white) images. To "colorize" the image, a Mariner 10 Earth/Moon image taken in 1973 was used to color this Earth and Moon picture. The procedure used was as follows: the Mariner 10 image was converted from 24-bit color to 8-bit color using a JPEG to GIF conversion program. The 8-bit color image was converted to 8-bit grayscale and an associated lookup table mapping each gray value of the image to a red-green-blue color triplet (RGB). Each color triplet was root-sum-squared (RSS), and sorted in increasing RSS values. These sorted lists were brightness-to-color maps for the images. Each brightness-to-color map was then used to convert the 8-bit grayscale MOC image to an 8-bit color image. This 8-bit color image was then converted to a 24-bit color image. The color image was edited to return the background to black. Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems [ http://www.msss.com/ ] |
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A Mid-Northern Summer/Southe
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A Mid-Northern Summer/Southern Winter's Mars |
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MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-325, 04 April 2003 The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) began its daily global imaging campaign four years ago, on March 9, 1999. Since that time, slightly more than 2 full Martian years have elapsed, and MOC has obtained a complete daily record of the red planet's ever-changing weather patterns. Observing Mars every day over many years is critical to understanding how to forecast weather that may occur in the future, and MOC is the only U.S. instrument slated to orbit Mars until late 2006 that can provide this information. For example, the MOC team has found that many weather events repeat from one year to the next. Such knowledge is useful in considering where future spacecraft might land on Mars---a site that is known to experience a dust storm each year during the period a lander or rover will be operational might not be a good place to land. The six views of Mars shown here are a composite of the 24 daily global images acquired by MOC on February 14, 2003. At this time, it was the middle of summer in the northern hemisphere, and the middle of winter in the south. Taken together, the six views show the entire planet, its albedo (bright and dark) features, polar frosts, and cloud patterns. Water-ice clouds dominate the martian atmosphere over the tropical and sub-tropical latitudes, while orographically-generated (i.e. those associated with high-standing topography) water-ice clouds hang over each of the large volcanoes of the Tharsis and Elysium regions (see MOC2-326a, MOC2-326b, MOC326f). In the north polar region, the residual water-ice cap is fully exposed. In the southern hemisphere, the winter-time seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap can be seen, extending from the south pole (which is in darkness and not seen in these images) northward to 50°S latitude. In the deep Hellas Basin (an ancient, giant impact scar seen as the bright elliptical feature at the bottom of MOC2-326e), the winter-time cap extends northward to 31°S because the lower elevation permits carbon dioxide to freeze at slightly higher temperatures than at the high elevations elsewhere in the southern hemisphere. When these pictures were taken on February 14, 2003, dust storm activity was at a minimum and isolated to early morning hours around the edges of the north polar cap. Within a day, however, dust storm activity began to pick up in both hemispheres--as was expected from previous MOC images at this time of year in 1999 and 2001--and dust storms remained active through the rest of February and March. Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Caption by: B. C. Cantor, K. S. Edgett, and M. C. Malin, MSSS |
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Mars in Early Northern Spring MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-329, 04 April 2003 In April 2003, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) operations team completed the validation and archiving of MOC data acquired between February and July 2002. This was a period that included the end of northern winter and the start of spring in that hemisphere. This composite of MOC daily global images, acquired in early May 2002, shows what the planet looked like in early northern spring. The retreating north polar seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap is seen at the top of this view. Other white features in the image are clouds of water ice crystals in the martian atmosphere. The left half of this picture shows the Tharsis region, which includes several very large volcanoes. Olympus Mons, the largest martian volcano, is as wide as the Hawaiian Island chain is long, it is the dark, somewhat circular feature at the far left. Toward the lower right, the system of deep Valles Marineris chasms can be seen. Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Caption by: K. S. Edgett and M. C. Malin, MSSS |
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The Martian Limb MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-328, 04 April 2003 The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red and blue wide angle cameras provide daily coverage of the planet "from limb to limb." The "limbs" are the edges of the planet as seen to the west and east of the spacecraft. Depending on weather conditions, clouds or haze can sometimes be seen above the limb. This picture was taken by the blue camera in December 2002. It is an oblique view looking westward across heavily cratered terrain at high southern latitudes. A thin line of haze, high in the martian atmosphere, can be seen above the planet's surface. The view of craters in the foreground is enhanced by the presence of bright, winter-time carbon dioxide frost. The darkness above the limb is outer space. Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Caption by: K. S. Edgett and M. C. Malin, MSSS |
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Mars Express Seen by Mars Gl
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Mars Express Seen by Mars Global Surveyor, This picture shows the Mars Express orbiter as a white, wavy, slanted streak centered against a vast, deep black background. The lines of the spacecraft make it appear somewhat like a jagged, three-inch worm in space. |
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This picture of the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor is from the first successful imaging of any spacecraft orbiting Mars by another spacecraft orbiting Mars. The picture is a composite of two views of Mars Express that Mars Orbiter Camera acquired on April 20, 2005, from distances of about 250 and 370 kilometers (155 and 229 miles). Owing to the large distance between Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Express when the two views could be acquired and to a substantial cross-track component of apparent motion for which no correction could be made, Mars Express appears in the image as a narrow blur rather than as a well-defined spacecraft. It appears in the image to be about 1.5 meters in the small dimension and 15 meters in the long dimension, which is consistent with the viewing distance, pixel scale, and encounter geometry. The components of Mars Express when viewed from the same angle as this image can be seen in an artist's rendition http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA07944_fig1.jpg and an annotated rendition http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/figures/PIA07944_fig2.jpg of the spacecraft. Mars Express was launched on June 3, 2003, and reached Mars on Dec. 25, 2003. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and arrived in Mars orbit on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washingon, D.C. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS |
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Landslide in Kasei Valles MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-326, 04 April 2003 The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) continues in 2003 to return excellent, high resolution images of the red planet's surface. This nearly 1.5 meters (5 ft.) per pixel view of a landslide on a 200 meter-high (219 yards-high) slope in Kasei Valles was specifically targeted for scientific investigation by rotating the MGS spacecraft about 7.8° off-nadir in January 2003. The scar left by the landslide reveals layers in the bedrock at the top the slope and shows a plethora of dark-toned, house-sized boulders that rolled down the slope and collected at the base of the landslide scar. A few meteor impact craters have formed on the landslide deposit and within the scar, indicating that this landslide occurred a very long time ago. Sunlight illuminates this scene from the left/lower left, the landslide is located near 28.3°N, 71.9°W. Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Caption by: K. S. Edgett and M. C. Malin, MSSS |
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Rolling Stones Make New Boul
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Rolling Stones Make New Boulder Tracks |
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When a boulder rolls down a dusty slope, it can leave behind a trail of depressions. Usually known as boulder tracks, these features have been documented and studied on Earth, the Moon, and Mars. Geologists studying the Moon and Mars can use these tracks to learn about the physical properties of the fine-grained debris encountered by the boulder as it rolled down the slope. Because of the high-resolution capability (0.5 to 12 meters, 1.6 to 39 feet, per pixel) of the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, dozens of boulder track sites have been identified on the red planet. A Mars Orbiter Camera image of one set of boulder tracks in a south mid-latitude crater (located near 35.8 degrees south latitude, 158.4 degrees west longitude) was obtained on Nov. 14, 2003, (left). A second image of the same site, from Dec. 4, 2004, (right) shows that more than a dozen new boulder tracks formed on the crater wall during the intervening time. Mars is an active planet, with geologic changes occurring -- at some scale -- every day. In this case, some time between mid November 2003 and early December 2004, a suite of boulders became dislodged from the crater wall, then rolled and perhaps bounced their way to the crater floor. Wider context for the site can be seen in a mosaic of Mars Orbiter Camera wide-angle images acquired in May 1999 (insert MOC2-1213a). The white box indicates the location of the later, higher-resolution views. Why the new boulders slid down the slope is unknown. This is the product of a mass movement (landsliding) process. That is, gravity is the main culprit. Whether the boulder motion was triggered by something -- a seismic event ("Marsquake") or strong winds -- is not known. Also unknown is whether all of the new boulder tracks formed at the same time, in response to a single event, or rolled downhill one at a time over the nearly 13-month period. The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS |
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Eberswalde Delta in High Res
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Eberswalde Delta in High Resolution |
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Scientifically, perhaps the most important result from use of the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor during that spacecraft's extended mission has been the discovery and documentation of a fossil delta. The feature is located in a crater northeast of Holden Crater, near 24.0 degrees south latitude, 33.7 degrees west longitude. Since the announcement of the discovery of the delta in November 2003, the International Astronomical Union has provided a provisional name (pending final approval) for the crater in which the landforms occur. The crater has been named Eberswalde, for a town in Germany. This image offers a higher-resolution view of a portion of the fossil delta than any seen earlier. North is up. At the bottom of the frame, the image includes the north end of a looping, inverted, meandering channel. The image covers an area of about 3 by 3 kilometers (1.9 x 1.9 miles). It was produced using a technique called "compensated pitch and roll targeted observation," in which the rotation rate of the spacecraft is adjusted to match the ground speed under the camera. At full resolution, this map-projected image is at 50 centimeters (20 inches) per pixel. Additional images from Mars Orbiter Camera provide some context and show a nearby portion of the fossil delta's inverted channels at a spatial scale of 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) per pixel. The relative positions of these three images are indicated in a mosaic image of the entire delta, for which the unmarked version was released in November 2003. The first Mars Orbiter Camera narrow angle images of some of the landforms in the delta were acquired in 2000, during the Mars Global Surveyor primary mission, but those pictures did not show very well the unambiguous inverted channel forms. Not until the second Earth year of the orbiter's extended mission were the deltaic features recognized in Mars Orbiter Camera images obtained in March and June of 2002. Following the initial observations in 2002, the Mars Orbiter Camera team began a systematic effort to map the entire Eberswalde Crater delta. Most of this imaging required slewing the whole spacecraft in a technique called "roll only targeted observation" so that it pointed the camera toward the feature. In this way, the camera team was able to build up a mosaic of the delta much more quickly than would have been the case if the team had simply relied upon chance crossing of the delta by the orbiter's usual ground track. This technique was not employed during Mars Global Surveyor's primary mission, except in the search for Mars Polar Lander, but became a routine part of the tool kit during the extended mission. Even with the "roll only targeted observation" technique, it took more than one Earth year to build up a complete mosaic of images of the delta. In the meantime, the first data showing the deltaic landforms were archived and released to the public and scientific community, long before the Mars Orbiter Camera team's, analysis and mosaic were complete. Some scientists began independent analyses of the landform at that time. The initial analysis and announcement of the feature was finally published in November 2003. The Eberswalde delta provides the first clear, "smoking gun" evidence that some valleys on Mars experienced persistent flow of a liquid with the physical properties of water over an extended period of time, as do rivers on Earth. In addition, because the delta today is lithified -- that is, hardened to form rock -- it provided the first unambiguous evidence that some martian sedimentary rocks were deposited in a liquid (presumably, water) environment. The presence of meandering channels, a cut-off meander, and crisscrossing channels at different elevations (one above the other), provided the clear geologic evidence for these interpretations. After the sediments were deposited to form the delta, the material was further buried by other materials -- probably sediments -- that are no longer present. The entire package of buried material became cemented and hardened to form rock. Later, erosive processes such as wind stripped away the overlying rock, re-exposing the delta. Now preserved essentially as a fossil, the former floors of channels in the delta became inverted, to form ridges, by erosion. Channels can be inverted by erosion on both Earth and Mars. Usually this happens when the channel floor, or the material filling the channel, is harder to erode than the surrounding material into which the channel was cut. In some cases, the channels on Earth and Mars have been filled by lava to make them more resistant to erosion. In the case of Eberswalde, there are no lava flows, instead, the channel floors may have been rendered resistant to erosion either by being better-cemented than the surrounding material, or composed of coarser-grained sediment (such as sand and gravel as opposed to silt), or both. The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS |
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Repeated Clouds over Arsia M
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Repeated Clouds over Arsia Mons |
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Three wide angle views taken by the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor at intervals approximately one Mars year apart show similar spiral dust clouds over a volcano named Arsia Mons. The upper-left image was taken on June 19, 2001, the first day of southern winter on Mars. The upper-right image was taken on April 24, 2003, in late southern autumn on Mars. The lower image was taken on Feb. 25, 2005, slightly earlier in late southern autumn on Mars. Some parts of Mars experience weather phenomena that repeat each year at about the same time. In some regions, the repeated event may be a dust storm that appears every year, like clockwork, in such a way that we can only wish the weather were so predictable on Earth. One of the repeated weather phenomena occurs each year near the start of southern winter over Arsia Mons, which is located near 9 degrees south latitude, 121 degrees west longitude. Just before southern winter begins, sunlight warms the air on the slopes of the volcano. This air rises, bringing small amounts of dust with it. Eventually, the rising air converges over the volcano's caldera, the large, circular depression at its summit. The fine sediment blown up from the volcano's slopes coalesces into a spiraling cloud of dust that is thick enough to actually observe from orbit. The spiral dust cloud over Arsia Mons repeats each year, but observations and computer calculations indicate it can only form during a short period of time each year. Similar spiral clouds have not been seen over the other large Tharsis volcanoes, but other types of clouds have been seen. The spiral dust cloud over Arsia Mons can tower 15 to 30 kilometers (9 to 19 miles) above the volcano. The white and bluish areas in the images are thin clouds of water ice. In the 2005 case, more water ice was present than in the previous years at the time the pictures were obtained. For scale, the caldera of Arsia Mons is about 110 kilometers (68 miles) across, and the summit of the volcano stands about 10 kilometers (6 miles) above its surrounding plains. The Mars Orbiter Camera was built and is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif. Mars Global Surveyor left Earth on Nov. 7, 1996, and began orbiting Mars on Sept. 12, 1997. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages Mars Global Surveyor for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Credit: NASA/JPL/MSSS |
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he third figure shows before
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he third figure shows before-and-after narrow-angle camera views of the impact site. |
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Figure C - Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Browse Image | Large - annotated (120 Kb) | Large (120 Kb) Taken together, the Mars Odyssey and Mars Global Surveyor data indicate that this impact occurred some time between June 30, 2002, and May 7, 2003. The Mars Global Surveyor mission is managed for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, developed and operates the spacecraft. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif., built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera. For more information about images from the Mars Orbiter Camera, see http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html [ http://www.msss.com/mgs/moc/index.html ]. |
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Wirtz Crater Dune Field MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-330, 04 April 2003 This picture of sand dunes in Wirtz Crater was obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in early October 2002. The shape of the dunes indicates that wind has been transporting the sand from the southwest toward the northeast (lower left toward upper right). The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is located near 48.6°S, 25.5°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems Caption by: K. S. Edgett and M. C. Malin, MSSS |
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May 1999 Dust Storm in Valle
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PIA02045
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
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May 1999 Dust Storm in Valles Marineris |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Mars Global Surveyor's (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) captured this view of a dust storm within the Ius and Melas Chasms of the Valles Marineris trough system on May 16, 1999. The dust storm is seen in the lower 1/3 of the image. It occurs at the junction between eastern Ius Chasma and western Melas Chasma. The apparent motion of the storm is approximately from the south (bottom of image) toward the north. The dust cloud forms a sharp front along its northern margin, which is seen along the north wall of Ius and Melas Chasms--in fact, at the time the image was taken, the dust had advanced up over the north wall of Melas Chasma (upper portion of lower right third of image) and was advancing across the upland that separates this chasm from western Candor Chasma. For a clear-atmosphere view of western Candor and Melas Chasms, see "Western Melas and Candor Chasms, Valles Marineris, MOC2-105, 25 March 1999" [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/3_25_99_vmcolor/index.html ]. For scale, note that the large crater south of Hebes Chasma, Perrotin, is about 95 kilometers (59 miles) across. Bluish-white clouds in the image are interpreted to consist of water ice. The pink/red clouds of the dust storm occur closer to the ground, at a lower altitude than the water ice clouds. One of the most interesting aspects of this dust storm is that Valles Marineris was observed to have a dust storm at exactly the same time of year, one Martian year ago. During its approach to Mars, MOC obtained a picture of the planet on July 2,1997, just prior to the Mars Pathfinder landing. At the time, it was winter in the southern hemisphere, and dust clouds were observed within Valles Marineris. The picture is seen in "Mars Orbiter Camera Views Mars Pathfinder Landing Site,MOC2-1, 3 July 1997" [ http://www.msss.com/mars/global_surveyor/camera/images/c9/index.html ]. It will be interesting to see if similar storms occur within the Valles Marineris 1 and 2 Mars years hence. The next times will be in early April 2001 and mid-February 2003. 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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Landslide in Kasei Valles
PIA04269
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
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Landslide in Kasei Valles |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) continues in 2003 to return excellent, high resolution images of the red planet's surface. This nearly 1.5 meters (5 ft.) per pixel view of a landslide on a 200 meter-high (219 yards-high) slope in Kasei Valles was specifically targeted for scientific investigation by rotating the MGS spacecraft about 7.8° off-nadir in January 2003. The scar left by the landslide reveals layers in the bedrock at the top the slope and shows a plethora of dark-toned, house-sized boulders that rolled down the slope and collected at the base of the landslide scar. A few meteor impact craters have formed on the landslide deposit and within the scar, indicating that this landslide occurred a very long time ago. Sunlight illuminates this scene from the left/lower left, the landslide is located near 28.3°N, 71.9°W. |
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Spring Defrosting of Mass-Mo
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PIA04270
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
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Spring Defrosting of Mass-Movement Material at South High Latitudes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Southern hemisphere spring on Mars will begin this year around May 6, 2003. During the spring, the MOC operations team will be documenting changes as the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap retreats southward. In preparation for this year's southern spring, the team has been examining images obtained during the last southern spring, which occurred in 2001. This pair of images shows gullies and associated scars formed by mass-movement down a slope in the south polar region. The first view, in mid-spring, was acquired in August 2001, it shows a terrain that is largely devoid of the frost that covered everything during winter. However, the aprons of debris from the mass-movements (landslides) are still frosted. By late spring, in the second picture (right), the frost on the aprons had finally sublimed away, and the debris was seen to be not much brighter than their surroundings. The second picture was taken in November 2001, about a week before the first day of summer. The fact that the aprons of debris retained frost in mid-spring, whereas the surrounding terrain did not, probably indicates that the debris underlying the frost has different thermal properties than the surroundings. The debris might be more coarse-grained (sand or gravel, perhaps), and remained cooler in the daytime than the surrounding, dust-mantled surfaces. The images are both illuminated from the bottom/lower right. North is toward the bottom, and the area imaged is located near 70.9°S, 339.3°W. |
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Mars in Early Northern Sprin
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PIA04272
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Mars in Early Northern Spring |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
In April 2003, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) operations team completed the validation and archiving of MOC data acquired between February and July 2002. This was a period that included the end of northern winter and the start of spring in that hemisphere. This composite of MOC daily global images, acquired in early May 2002, shows what the planet looked like in early northern spring. The retreating north polar seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap is seen at the top of this view. Other white features in the image are clouds of water ice crystals in the martian atmosphere. The left half of this picture shows the Tharsis region, which includes several very large volcanoes. Olympus Mons, the largest martian volcano, is as wide as the Hawaiian Island chain is long, it is the dark, somewhat circular feature at the far left. Toward the lower right, the system of deep Valles Marineris chasms can be seen. |
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North Polar Dust Storm
PIA04468
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
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North Polar Dust Storm |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-334, 18 April 2003 This composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle daily global images shows a north polar dust storm on March 7, 2003. Similar late summer storms occurred nearly every day from late February well into April 2003, these were also seen in late summer in 1999 and 2001. The white features at the top of the image are the water ice surfaces of the north polar residual cap. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. |
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Gusev Crater
PIA04274
Sol (our sun)
Visual Imaging Subsystem
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Gusev Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released April 11, 2003 The designated landing site for the first Mars Exploration Rover mission is Gusev Crater, seen here in its geological context from NASA Viking images. Details of the Gusev Crater designated landing site are added with topographic information and higher-resolution imaging from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters. |
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Gusev Crater
PIA04274
Sol (our sun)
Visual Imaging Subsystem
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Gusev Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released April 11, 2003 The designated landing site for the first Mars Exploration Rover mission is Gusev Crater, seen here in its geological context from NASA Viking images. Details of the Gusev Crater designated landing site are added with topographic information and higher-resolution imaging from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters. |
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Lava Flow and Impact Crater
PIA04467
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
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Lava Flow and Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-333, 17 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture obtained in April 2003 shows the margin of a large lava flow south of Tharsis near 33.5°S, 137.5°W. Some of the lava broke out and poured into an adjacent crater formed by meteor impact. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide, the crater is more than twice the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona, U.S.A. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Buttes in Melas Chasma
PIA04473
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
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Buttes in Melas Chasma |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-336, 20 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture obtained in March 2003 shows dark-toned buttes of possible sedimentary rock in southern Melas Chasma. These buttes are remnants of a layer or sequence of layers that once covered this portion of the chasm floor. The buttes are located near 11.4°S, 75.1° W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper right. |
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Grooved Herschel Dunes
PIA04472
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Grooved Herschel Dunes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-335, 19 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image portrays the dark, somewhat cemented, wind-scoured sand dunes of central Herschel Crater. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide near 15.7°S, 228.8°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Defrosting North Polar Dune
…
PIA04460
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Defrosting North Polar Dune Field |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-331, 15 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image captures frost-covered north polar sand dunes in springtime as they are beginning to defrost. Dark spots and streaks indicate areas where frozen carbon dioxide has started to be removed by sublimation and wind. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide near 76.3°N, 264.9°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left. |
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Daedalia Planum Wind Streak
PIA04465
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Daedalia Planum Wind Streak |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-332, 16 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a complex streak formed by deposition and erosion of sediment by wind in the lee of an impact crater in western Daedalia Planum. The winds needed to create this feature blew from the southeast (from the lower right). The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide near 10.1°S, 133.7°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Aram and Iani Chaos
PIA04485
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Aram and Iani Chaos |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-344, 28 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image mosaic was constructed from data acquired by the MOC red wide angle camera. The large, circular feature in the upper left is Aram Chaos, an ancient impact crater filled with layered sedimentary rock that was later disrupted and eroded to form a blocky, "chaotic" appearance. To the southeast of Aram Chaos, in the lower right of this picture, is Iani Chaos. The light-toned patches amid the large blocks of Iani Chaos are known from higher-resolution MOC images to be layered, sedimentary rock outcrops. The picture center is near 0.5°N, 20°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left/upper left. |
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Meridiani Planum
PIA04275
Sol (our sun)
Visual Imaging Subsystem
| Title |
Meridiani Planum |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released April 11, 2003 The designated landing site for the second Mars Exploration Rover mission is Meridiani Planum, seen here in its geological context from NASA Viking images Details of the Meridiani Planum designated landing site are added with topographic information and higher-resolution imaging from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters. |
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Meridiani Planum
PIA04275
Sol (our sun)
Visual Imaging Subsystem
| Title |
Meridiani Planum |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Released April 11, 2003 The designated landing site for the second Mars Exploration Rover mission is Meridiani Planum, seen here in its geological context from NASA Viking images Details of the Meridiani Planum designated landing site are added with topographic information and higher-resolution imaging from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Odyssey orbiters. |
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Russell Dune Gullies
PIA04484
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Russell Dune Gullies |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-343, 27 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the mysterious dune gullies of Russell Crater. The terrain shown here is one very large sand dune, the surface slopes from upper right toward lower left. Gullies start on the slope at the upper right and indicate flow toward the lower left. These might have formed by the presence of a fluid-either liquid or gas-mixed with sand that avalanched down the dune slope. Or not. Their origin is unknown, although it is known that they tend to occur only on slopes facing southward. The MOC team has re-imaged these gullies several times in the past three Mars years, but no new gullies have formed. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide near 54.5°S, 347.3°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Meridiani Cliffs and Buttes
PIA04492
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Meridiani Cliffs and Buttes |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-347, 1 May 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image of layered sedimentary rock outcrops in northern Sinus Meridiani shows several buttes and ridges formed in rock that is somewhat resistant to erosion. The circular feature near the bottom of the picture is an old impact crater that was filled, then buried within the layered material, then later partially exhumed. The sinuous ridge and small buttes to the right of the exhumed crater are composed of the same rock materials that once buried the crater. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide near 2.3°N, 353.6°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
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Buttes South of Cerberus
PIA04477
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Buttes South of Cerberus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-340, 24 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows rocky, dust-mantled buttes in a terrain similar to the Monument Valley of Utah/Arizona, located southwest of the Cerberus region. Boulders the size of large houses have tumbled down into the valleys between the buttes. The picture covers an area about 1.5 km (just under 1 mi) wide near 3.3°N, 212.4°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
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Polar Polygon Patterns
PIA04475
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Polar Polygon Patterns |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-338, 22 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image was taken during southern spring, as the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was subliming away. Frost remaining in shallow cracks and depressions reveals a fantastic polygonal pattern. Similar polygons occur in the Earth's arctic and antarctic regions-on Earth such polygons are related to the freeze and thaw of ground ice. The picture covers an area about 3 km (about 1.9 mi) wide near 71.9°S, 11.1°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
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Layers in 8°N, 7°W Crater
PIA04483
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Layers in 8°N, 7°W Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-342, 26 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dozens of layers of sedimentary rock in an unnamed western Arabia crater at 8°N, 7°W. Dark, wind-blown sand and lighter-toned dunes or ripples enhance the apparent contrast in this area. Several faults, indicated by off-set layers, are present. The picture covers an area about 1.5 km (just under 1mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
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Northern Sinus Meridiani Ste
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PIA04481
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Northern Sinus Meridiani Stereo |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-341, 25 April 2003 This is a stereo (3-d anaglyph) composite of Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) wide angle images of northern Sinus Meridiani near 2°N, 0°W. The light-toned materials at the south (bottom) end of the picture are considered to be thick (100-200 meters, 300-600 ft) exposures of sedimentary rock. Several ancient meteor impact craters are being exhumed from within these layered materials. To view in stereo, use "3-d" glasses with red over the left eye, and blue over the right. The picture covers an area approximately 113 km (70 mi) wide, north is up. |
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Layers Near Juventae Chasma
PIA04487
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Layers Near Juventae Chasma |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-346, 30 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture obtained in April 2003 shows eroded layered rock outcrops near the southwest rim of Juventae Chasma in the southern hemisphere. This area is near 4.8°S, 63.7°W. Layers such as these record some fraction of the geologic history of Mars, however, that history cannot really be known from pictures alone. The erosional pattern of these layers suggests that they are sedimentary rocks. The area shown is about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Boulder Ring
PIA04486
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Boulder Ring |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-345, 29 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a ring of boulders on the floor of a southern mid-latitude basin. The sharp, inner ring of boulders and knobs is the location of the rim of a filled and buried impact crater. The outer, diffuse ring of boulders is the material ejected from the impact crater when it formed. The crater and its ejecta are only thinly buried beneath the surface. This feature is located near 55.5°S, 333.3°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Sedimentary Rock Layers
PIA04488
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Sedimentary Rock Layers |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-348, 2 May 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image acquired in March 2003 shows dozens of repeated layers of sedimentary rock in a western Arabia Terra crater at 8°N, 7°W. Wind has sculpted the layered forms into hills somewhat elongated toward the lower left (southwest). The dark patches at the bottom (south) end of the image are drifts of windblown sand. These sedimentary rocks might indicate that the crater was once the site of a lake--or they may result from deposition by wind in a completely dry, desert environment. Either way, these rocks have something important to say about the geologic history of Mars. The area shown is about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
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Utopia Cracks and Polygons
PIA04476
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Utopia Cracks and Polygons |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-339, 23 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a pattern of polygonal cracks and aligned, elliptical pits in western Utopia Planitia. The picture covers an area about 3 km (about 1.9 mi) wide near 44.9°N, 274.7°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left. |
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South Polar Ice Cap
PIA04474
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
South Polar Ice Cap |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-337, 21 April 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows the "swiss cheese" pattern of frozen carbon dioxide on the south polar residual cap. Observation of these materials over two Mars years has revealed that the scarps that bound the mesas and small buttes are retreating-the carbon dioxide ice is subliming away-at a rate of about 3 meters (3 yards) per Mars year in some places. The picture covers an area about 900 m (about 900 yards) wide near 87.1°S, 93.7°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left. |
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Hecates Tholus
PIA04813
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Hecates Tholus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-526, 27 October 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) red wide angle image shows Hecates Tholus, the northernmost of the three large Elysium volcanoes. The non-circular pit just southwest (toward lower left) of the center of this view is the summit caldera, a complex depression formed by collapse. This volcano has several large impact craters on its surface, indicating that it is a relatively old landform. None of the martian volcanoes are thought to be active today, and none of the MOC images of the martian volcanoes obtained thus far give any indication to the contrary. Hecates Tholus is located at 32°N, 210°W. This picture is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left and covers an area about 170 km (~105 mi) across. |
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Crater in Syrtis Major
PIA04815
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater in Syrtis Major |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-527, 28 October 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a meteor impact crater in central Syrtis Major. This is a relatively young crater, its ejecta patterns are very well preserved and have not been eroded away by wind or buried by fine sediment. The crater is located near 8.5°N, 295.2°W. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the left/upper left. |
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Rippled Mars
PIA04811
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Rippled Mars |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-524, 25 October 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a rugged surface southwest of Huygens Basin that is covered by large windblown ripples or small dunes. Their orientations indicate that the responsible winds came from either the northwest (upper left) or southeast (lower right), or both. The more complex ripple patterns within the two large craters result from local topographic influences on the wind. This area is located near 20.1°S, 307.3°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. |
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Tharsis Wind Streaks
PIA04843
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Tharsis Wind Streaks |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-533, 3 November 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows dark wind streaks on a plain east of Olympus Mons in the Tharsis region of Mars. Streaks such as these change from time to time over the course of a martian year, suggesting that they are the result of wind movement of a thin layer of bright dust. In other words, wind is not moving dark material to make the dark streaks, it is removing bright material (thin coatings of dust). This picture is located near 16.3°N, 127.7°W. The image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. |
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Large Windblown Ripples
PIA04806
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Large Windblown Ripples |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-519, 20 October 2003 This April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) high resolution image shows a depression in the martian southern cratered highlands near 1.3°S, 244.3°W. The floor of the depression and some nearby craters are covered by large windblown ripples or small sand dunes. This image of ancient martian terrain covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left. |
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Crater Cluster
PIA04808
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Crater Cluster |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-521, 22 October 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a cluster of impact craters in northwest Arabia Terra near 30.4°N, 13.7°W. This group of craters may have formed either by secondary impact of debris thrown out of a larger meteor crater, or by the break-up and impact of many fragments from a single incoming object. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. |
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Circular Mesa
PIA04860
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Circular Mesa |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-538, 8 November 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a circular mesa in northeast Arabia Terra. The circularity suggests that this landform might be similar to other circular mesas, found elsewhere on Mars. In those other cases, the mesa was once a meteor impact crater. The crater was filled with sediment, the sediment was cemented to become rock, and later erosion removed all of the material surrounding the former crater, leaving it standing alone as a circular mesa. This image is located near 23.7°N, 319.0°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the left. |
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Olympus Mons Lava Flows
PIA04812
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Olympus Mons Lava Flows |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-525, 26 October 2003 This May 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows lava flows on the lower northern flanks of the large martian volcano, Olympus Mons. Located near 21.9°N, 132.9°W, the image features flows that moved down the north slope, toward the north/northeast (top/upper right). Sunlight illuminates this scene from the left/lower left, the picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across. |
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Fresh Impact Crater
PIA04809
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Fresh Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-522, 23 October 2003 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a young, fresh meteor impact crater in southeast Arabia Terra acquired in August 2003. The crater is inferred to be young because it still has a finely detailed pattern of rays associated with its ejecta. These rays formed in a dusty mantle that covers the other craters and rocky terrain at this locale. The crater is young enough that there has not been sufficient time for new dust to cover the rays, or for winds to erase them. The small dark dots associated with the crater are boulders. The boulders were ejected by the impact event. This crater is located near 6.9°S, 317.1°W. The picture covers an area approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left. |
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Valley near Olympus
PIA04861
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Valley near Olympus |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-539, 9 November 2003 A suite of channels and valleys are carved into the plains southeast of the martian volcano, Olympus Mons. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows an example located near 16.5°N, 124.8°W. Whether the valley was cut by water is unknown. Today it is dry, has dust-covered wind ripples on the floor of the innermost channel, and small craters have formed here and there on the valley terrain. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the left. |
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Chasma Australe Fog
PIA04836
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Chasma Australe Fog |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-528, 29 October 2003 Fog is a common occurrence in some areas of the retreating south polar seasonal frost cap. Fogs are commonly banked-up against steep slopes or found inside defrosting craters. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image captured mid-afternoon fog banked against the layered walls of Chasma Australe, a trough in the south polar region of Mars. The frost-covered layers of Chasma Australe can be seen on the right side of this image, the billowy fog is to the left. Sunlight illuminates this scene from the upper left. The fog, probably composed of water ice crystals, casts shadows on the chasm wall. This picture is located near 83.5°S, 257.9°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. |
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Impact Crater
PIA04807
Sol (our sun)
Mars Orbiter Camera
| Title |
Impact Crater |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-520, 21 October 2003 Craters formed by meteor impact are the "tools of the trade" for planetary geologists. Craters have formed on every solid Solar System body, and thus they can be compared to each other and provide insights as to the nature of the object on which the crater occurs. Mars is pocked with craters of a wide range of diameters, from the giant Hellas Basin, which is several thousand kilometers across, to tiny craters of only a few tens of meters in diameter. The impact crater shown in this Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture is located in northern Elysium Planitia near 33.1°N, 230.2°W. It is about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) across, nearly four times the size of the famous Meteor Crater in northern Arizona on the North American continent. The impact that formed this crater exposed layered bedrock (visible in the upper walls of the crater). Erosion, mostly by dry mass movement, has created gullies and piles of talus on the crater walls. Dark dots at the base of the wall are large boulders that have come down these slopes. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the left/lower left. |
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