"Happy Face" Crater
The story of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) onboard the Mars Global
Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft began with a proposal to NASA in 1985. The
first MOC flew on Mars Observer, a spacecraft that was lost before it
reached the red planet in 1993. Now, after 14 years of effort, a MOC
has finally been placed in the desired mapping orbit. The MOC team's
happiness is perhaps best expressed by the planet Mars itself. On the
first day of the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission--during the second
week of March 1999--MOC was greeted with this view of "Happy Face
Crater" (center right) smiling back at the camera from its location on
the east side of Argyre Planitia. This crater is officially known as Galle
Crater, and it is about 215 kilometers (134 miles) across. The picture
was taken by the MOC's red and blue wide angle cameras. The
bluish-white tone is caused by wintertime frost. Illumination is from the
upper left. For more information and Viking Orbiter views of "Happy Face
Crater," see
http://www.msss.com/education/happy_face/happy_face.html.
Photo Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
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