NASA Mars Picture of the Day: A Matter of Time
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1375, 16 February 2006
 NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of the south polar residual cap where the effects of sublimation are apparent. Over extended periods of time, sublimation “eats” away at the smoother appearing material (largely composed of frozen carbon dioxide), darkening the scarps and creating the irregularly shaped depressions that are present throughout much of the scene. |
Location near: 87.1°S, 69.3°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.
