Two Craters, One Impactor
December 5, 2012
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows two craters that formed at the same time by a split meteoritic impactor. Long after they formed, these craters have been eroded, degraded, and other materials have been deposited on and within them. MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1316, 19 December 2005
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996, beginning the United States's return to Mars after a 10-year absence. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on November 2, 2006, the spacecraft failed to respond to messages and commands. A faint signal was detected three days later which indicated that it had gone into safe mode. Attempts to recontact the spacecraft and resolve the problem failed, and NASA officially ended the mission in January 2007.
Credits: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
The Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996, beginning the United States's return to Mars after a 10-year absence. It completed its primary mission in January 2001 and was in its third extended mission phase when, on November 2, 2006, the spacecraft failed to respond to messages and commands. A faint signal was detected three days later which indicated that it had gone into safe mode. Attempts to recontact the spacecraft and resolve the problem failed, and NASA officially ended the mission in January 2007.
Credits: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Topics:
Environment, Space technology, Spaceflight, Spacecraft, Mars Orbiter Camera, Michael C. Malin, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Lander, Mars Global Surveyor, Malin Space Science Systems, Exploration of Mars, Mars, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
