NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Defrosting Patterns 10-16-2005
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1251, 15 October 2005
 NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a frost-covered surface in the martian south polar region. As the seasonal frost begins to sublime away, local variations in surface texture—mostly dendritic cracks, in this case—lead to early defrosting in some areas. Those areas already defrosted appear dark in the image. |
Location near: 79.1°S, 340.1°W |
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) |
Illumination from: upper left |
Season: Southern 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.
