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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 online now. "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. Related Links Latest Release Mars Global Surveyor Image Atlas at MSSS Mars at JPL SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express 
Surveyor Snaps A Phobos Exclusive
Pasadena - Jun 25, 2003Images from the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard NASA's Mars Global Surveyor capture a faint yet distinct glimpse of the elusive Phobos, the larger and innermost of Mars' two moons. The moon, which usually rises in the west and moves rapidly across the sky to set in the east twice a day, is shown setting over Mars' afternoon horizon. |
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