Mars Picture of the Day: Dust Storm in Syria

Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-366, 20 May 2003

NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

A dust storm rages in Syria Planum, south of the Labyrinthus Noctis
troughs (at lower center) in this
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) composite
of daily global images taken during the recent southern winter.
In this view, water ice clouds are present over each of the five
largest Tharsis volcanoes, Olympus Mons (right center), Alba Patera
(upper center), Ascraeus Mons (near center), Pavonis Mons (toward
lower left), and Arsia Mons (lower left). The summertime north
polar residual water ice cap can be seen at the top of this
picture. Sunlight illuminates the planet from the 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.