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Subsection of Nirgal Vallis
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| title |
Subsection of Nirgal Vallis Image |
| Description |
This image is a subsection of the MGS Nirgal Vallis "B" image (PIA00942). This subsection of frame P006_05 is shown here at reduced resolution because the full image is almost 7 MBytes in size. Because the MOC acquires its images one line at a time, the cant angle towards the sun-lit portion of the planet, the spacecraft orbital velocity, and the spacecraft rotational velocity combined to significantly distort the image. However, even in this reduced resolution version, dunes can be seen in the canyon and in areas on the upland surface around the canyon. Nigral Vallis is one of a number of canyons called valley networks or runoff channels. Much of the debate concerning the origin of these valleys centers on whether they were formed by water flowing across the surface, or by collapse and upslope erosion associated with groundwater processes. At the resolution of this image, it is just barely possible to discern an interwoven pattern of lines on the highland surrounding the valley, but it is not possible to tell whether this is a pattern of surficial debris (sand or dust), as might be expected with the amount of crater burial seen, or a pattern of drainage channels. With 4X better resolution from its mapping orbit, MOC should easily be able to tell the difference between these two possibilities. Launched on November 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor entered Mars orbit on Thursday, September 11, 1997. The spacecraft has been using atmospheric drag to reduce the size of its orbit for the past three weeks, and will achieve a circular orbit only 400 km (248 mi) above the surface early next year. Mapping operations begin in March 1998. At that time, MOC narrow angle images will be 5-10 times higher resolution than these pictures. 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 MRPS #84722 100297_7 605.crp, a subsection of 605.str/MOC212B 559303731.605 P006_05 |
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Rotated Perspective View of
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Rotated Perspective View of Nirgal Vallis |
| Description |
This is the full-resolution, rotated perspective image of Nirgal Vallis, a subset of PIA00942. Nigral Vallis is one of a number of canyons called valley networks or runoff channels. Much of the debate concerning the origin of these valleys centers on whether they were formed by water flowing across the surface, or by collapse and upslope erosion associated with groundwater processes. At the resolution of this image, it is just barely possible to discern an interwoven pattern of lines on the highland surrounding the valley, but it is not possible to tell whether this is a pattern of surficial debris (sand or dust), as might be expected with the amount of crater burial seen, or a pattern of drainage channels. With 4X better resolution from its mapping orbit, MOC should easily be able to tell the difference between these two possibilities. Launched on November 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor entered Mars orbit on Thursday, September 11, 1997. The spacecraft has been using atmospheric drag to reduce the size of its orbit for the past three weeks, and will achieve a circular orbit only 400 km (248 mi) above the surface early next year. Mapping operations begin in March 1998. At that time, MOC narrow angle images will be 5-10 times higher resolution than these pictures. 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 MRPS #84704 100197_8 605.obl.sub.str/MOC212E 559303731.605 P006_05 |
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Nanedi Vallis
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Nanedi Vallis |
| Description |
This picture of a canyon on the Martian surface was obtained a few minutes after 10 PM PST, January 8, 1998 by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), during the 87th orbit around Mars of the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. It shows the canyon of Nanedi Vallis, one of the Martian valley systems cutting through cratered plains in the Xanthe Terra region of Mars. The picture covers an area 9.8 km by 18.5 km (6.1 mi by 11.5 mi), and features as small as 12 m (39 ft) can be seen. The canyon is about 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide. Rocky outcrops are found along the upper canyon walls, weathered debris is found on the lower canyon slopes and along the canyon floor. The origin of this canyon is enigmatic: some features, such as terraces within the canyon (as seen near the top of the frame) and the small 200 m (660 ft) wide channel (also seen near the top of the frame) suggest continual fluid flow and downcutting. Other features, such as the lack of a contributing pattern of smaller channels on the surface surrounding the canyon, box-headed tributaries, and the size and tightness of the apparent meanders (as seen, for example, in the Viking image 89A32), suggest formation by collapse. It is likely that both continual flow and collapse have been responsible for the canyon as it now appears. Further observations, especially in areas west of the present image, will be used to help separate the relative effects of these and other potential formation and modification processes. Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) 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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