NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Gullied Crater 12-05-2005
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1302, 5 December 2005
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows gullies formed in the walls of an impact crater. Such gullies might result from seepage and runoff of groundwater; others have suggested snowmelt might be involved, although there is no evidence for snow at this location. |
Location near: 35.7°S, 207.6°W |
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
Illumination from: upper left |
Season: Southern Summer |
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.