NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Residual Cap
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1458, 10 May 2006
 NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
| This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a summertime view of the south polar residual cap of Mars. In this image, mesas composed largely of solid carbon dioxide are separated from one another by irregularly-shaped depressions. The variation in brightness across this scene is a function of several factors including, but not limited to, varying proportions of dust and solid carbon dioxide, undulating topography, and differences in the roughness of the slopes versus the flat surfaces. |
| Location near: 86.7°S, 343.3°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.
