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Gallery Adds Thousands of New Mars Images

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

Jet Propulsion Lab -- Thousands of newly released portraits of martian landscapes from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft testify to the diversity of ways geological processes have sculpted the surface of our neighboring planet.

Swirling textures that some scientists call "taffy-pull terrain" fill one new image from the plains of southern Mars, for example. Other images reveal details of features such as wind-whipped polar dunes and steep-sided valleys carved by flowing water or lava.

The 10,232 newly released pictures from the Mars Orbiter Camera on Mars Global Surveyor bring the total number of images in the camera's online gallery to more than 134,000.

The new batch is at:

http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/2003/09/30/

"Mars just keeps astounding us with its complexity," said Dr. Ken Edgett, staff scientist for Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif, which built and operates the Mars Orbiter Camera.

The new group of images was taken between August 2002 and February 2003, then validated and archived by the camera team. It includes many views of north polar terrain, extremely clear-atmosphere views of a deep southern basin named Hellas Planitia, and a variety of martian landforms between the north pole and the southern middle latitudes.

The pictures show martian surface details down to the size of a large sport utility vehicle.

Since Mars Global Surveyor began orbiting Mars six years ago, the mission has provided a wealth of information about the planet's atmosphere and interior, as well at its surface.

Evaluation of landing sites for NASA's Spirit and Opportunity, two Mars Exploration Rover spacecraft due to land on Mars in January 2004, relied heavily on mineral mapping, detailed imagery and topographic measurements by Global Surveyor.

In addition to semi-annual releases of large collections of archived pictures, the Mars Orbiter Camera team posts a new image daily and recently began soliciting public suggestions for camera targets on Mars.

The full gallery is available at: http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/.

Here are a few examples:

MOC2-499a: Hellas "Taffy Pull":

Some of the strangest-looking surfaces on Mars occur in northwestern Hellas Planitia. Over the years, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team has informally -- quite informally -- taken to calling these surfaces, "taffy-pull terrain."

This image shows an example located near 39.2°S, 305.2°W. The origin of this pattern is unknown, although it is thought to be related to the erosion of different layers of bedrock or substrate of differing physical properties. That is, a hard layer would be more difficult to erode than a soft, or poorly-consolidated layer.

However, layering and erosion alone probably do not explain these landforms; perhaps faulting or mass movement of debris is also involved. As with all other explorations in our Solar System, sometimes the pictures we get back from space present us with more questions, rather than answers. This image covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across; sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

MOC2-499a: Hellas "Taffy Pull" in in northwestern Hellas Planitia. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

MOC2-499b: North Polar Dunes. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

MOC2-499c: Valley near Phlegra Dorsa. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

MOC2-499b: North Polar Dunes:

The steepest slope on a sand dune, the slipface, indicates the general direction that wind has been transporting sediment. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows several dark sand dunes in the north polar region.

Sand transport in this case is from the lower left (southwest) toward the upper right (northeast). The picture is located near 76.5°N, 257.4°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

MOC2-499c: Valley near Phlegra Dorsa:

This February 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a valley in the Phlegra Dorsa region of Mars near 26.3°N, 186.2°W.

The valley might have formed by flowing water or lava, but very little is yet known about this valley -- where is its source? where does it end? The valley is intimately associated with lava flows, and might therefore result from volcanism rather than water.

The fluid responsible for the valley moved from the lower left (southwest) toward the upper right (northeast). The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. The scene is illuminated by sunlight from the left.

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The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Global Surveyor mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

JPL's industrial partner is Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, which built and operates the spacecraft.

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