Status Report

NASA Mars Picture of the Day: Mars at Ls 341 degrees 12-27-2005

By SpaceRef Editor
December 27, 2005
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Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1324, 27 December 2005


Medium-sized view of MGS MOC Picture of the Day, updated daily


NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems



This picture is a composite of
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC)
daily global images acquired at
Ls 341°
during a previous Mars year. This month, Mars looks
similar, as
Ls 341° occurred in
mid-December 2005.
The picture shows the
Elysium/Mare Cimmerium
face of Mars. Over the course of the month, additional faces
of Mars as it appears at this time of year are being posted
for MOC Picture of the Day.
Ls, solar longitude,
is a measure of the time of year on Mars. Mars
travels 360° around the Sun in 1 Mars year. The
year begins at Ls 0°, the start of northern
spring and southern autumn.




Season: Northern Winter/Southern Summer




Tips for Media Use

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.

SpaceRef staff editor.