Status Report

NASA Mars Picture of the Day: South Polar Terraces

By SpaceRef Editor
February 11, 2006
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Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1368, 9 February 2006


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


NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems



This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows layering in terrain at the high southern latitudes of Mars. South polar layers are commonly assumed to consist of varying amounts of dust and ice. An alternative explanation—they may be exposures of ancient sedimentary rock.

Location near: 78.9°S, 10.1°W

Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)

Illumination from: upper left

Season: 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.