NASA Mars Picture of the Day: South Polar Terrain 02-11-2066
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1370, 11 February 2006
 NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows cracked surfaces in the south polar layered terrain of Mars. The cracks in this scene have formed complex dendritic arrays. Evidence of the fracture networks is clear in the topmost layer, however, close inspection reveals traces of apparently older networks in the underlying layers. |
Location near: 79.1°S, 194.2°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.
