Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Winter Frosted Dunes in Kaiser Crater
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-272, 31 January 2001
As the Mars Global Surveyor
Primary Mission draws to an end, the southern hemisphere of
Mars is in the depths of winter. At high latitudes, it is dark most,
if not all, of the day. Even at middle latitudes, the sun shines only
thinly through a veil of water and carbon dioxide ice clouds, and the
ground is so cold that carbon dioxide frosts have formed. Kaiser
Crater (47°S, 340°W) is one such place. At a latitude
comparable to Seattle, Washington, Duluth, Minnesota, or Helena,
Montana, Kaiser Crater is studied primarily because of the sand dune
field found within the confines of its walls (lower center of the
Mars Orbiter Camera image, above).
The normally dark-gray or blue-black sand can be seen in this
image to be shaded with light-toned frost. Other parts of the crater
are also frosted. Kaiser Crater and its dunes were the subject of an
earlier presentation of results (see "Dark Sand Dunes on the
Floor of Kaiser Crater" MOC Release MOC2-33A, -33B, -33C).
Close-up pictures of these and other dunes in the region show details
of their snow-cover, including small avalanches
(see "Dune Activity in
Proctor Crater" MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-170). The two
Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera images
that comprise this color view (M23-01751 and M23-01752) were acquired on
January 26, 2001.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
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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