Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
North Polar Region Dunes Focus Test Image
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-84, 10 March 1999
During the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) focus and calibration testing period
in the first week of March 1999, small pictures of surfaces in the north polar
region were used to check the quality of each change in the camera's focus.
Some of these pictures showed
the north polar permanent ice cap, while others provided a close-up
view of some of the dark sand dunes that surround the north polar region.
This picture shows the best example. The dunes here are dark and
their slip faces--the steep slope on the dune's lee side--is on the
right of each dune, indicating wind transport from right to left in this
particular location. The substrate between the dunes is bright and has
a rough, bumpy texture.
The picture covers an area 1000 meters (1094 yards) by 400 meters
(437 yards). Illumination is from the lower right.
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,
CA. 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, CA
and Denver, CO.
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Contact: info@msss.com