NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Dunes of Herschel 10-05-2004

Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-870, 5 October 2004

NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
image shows windblown sand dunes in Herschel Basin, a
large impact crater in the Terra Cimmeria region of Mars.
The dunes of Herschel have grooved surfaces, indicating
that their sands are somewhat cemented. Wind has blasted
and eroded the cemented sand to form the grooves. This
image was acquired in August 2004 and is located
near 15.6°S, 228.4°W.
The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across.
Sunlight illuminates the scene 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, California.
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,
California and Denver, Colorado.