Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Polar Dunes In Summer Exhibit Frost Patches, Wind Streaks
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-114, 11 April 1999
Mars Global Surveyor passes over the north polar polar region of the red
planet twelve times each day, offering many opportunities to observe how
the polar cap frosts and dunes are changing as the days go by. Right now it
is summer in the north. This picture, taken the second week of April 1999,
shows dark sand dunes and remnant patches of bright frost left over from
the winter that ended in July 1998. Dark streaks indicate recent movement
of sand. The picture covers an area only 1.4 kilometers (0.9 miles) across
and is illuminated from the upper 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.
To MSSS Home Page
Contact: info@msss.com