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Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

MOC Aerobraking Orbit Color Image #1 - P013

Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Release:                  MOC2-13
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Image IDs:         560380477.1301
                                                            560380477.1302
                                                                P013-01,02
Click on image for full resolution version

(A)p13wactx_icon.gif (B)p13color_icon.gif
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Note: This MOC image is made available in order to share with the public the excitement of new discoveries being made via the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The image may be reproduced only if the image is credited to "Malin Space Science Systems/NASA". Release of this image does not constitute a release of scientific data. The image and its caption should not be referenced in the scientific literature. Full data releases to the scientific community are scheduled by the Mars Global Surveyor Project and NASA Planetary Data System. Typically, data will be released after a 6 month calibration and validation period.

Click Here for more information on MGS data release and archiving plans.

MOC images P013_01 and P013_02 were acquired with the low resolution red and blue wide angle cameras at 2:14 PM PDT on October 3, 1997, about 11 minutes after Mars Global Surveyor passed close to the planet for the thirteenth time. To make a color image, a third component (green) was synthesized from the red and blue images. During the imaging period, the spacecraft was canted towards the sun-lit hemisphere by 25°, and the MOC was obliquely viewing features from about 600 to 1000 km (360 to 600 miles) away. The resolution at those distances was between 350 and 600 meters (0.25 to 0.37 miles) per picture element. The image covers an area from 73° to 86° W longitude and 5° N to to 10° S).

In both of the two images shown above, north is to the top. In the MOC image, the camera was viewing towards the west.



Launched on November 7, 1996, Mars Global Surveyor entered Mars orbit on Thursday, September 11, 1997. From the planned 400 km (248 mi) orbit altitude, MOC wide angle images will be 2-4 times higher resolution than these pictures.

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