NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Buried Craters 09-17-2006
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1588, 17 September 2006
 NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
| This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows rugged terrain in the northern plains. The circular features are old, buried impact craters. The bright spots are small patches of the seasonal frost that has been almost entirely removed from the area by sublimation (turning from solid to gas). |
| Location near: 70.7°N, 271.0°W |
| Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
| Illumination from: lower left |
| Season: Northern Spring |
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.
