NASA Mars Picture of the Day: South Polar Variety
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1166, 28 July 2005
 NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a view of linear troughs and mesas formed in the frozen carbon dioxide of the martian south polar residual cap. This image, obtained in May 2005, is a reminder that not all of the south polar cap landscapes resemble “swiss cheese”. |
Location near: 86.7°S, 24.8°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.
