PIA03049: Martian Lava Flows
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows lava flows at the southeast base of the giant volcano, Olympus Mons on Mars. The flat plain in the south-southeast portion of the image is younger than and cuts off the ends of many of the lava flows.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) 
 Spacecraft:  Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
 Instrument:  Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) 
 Product Size:  672 x 1599 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1255  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA03049.tif (1.076 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA03049.jpg (300 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

19 October 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows lava flows at the southeast base of the giant volcano, Olympus Mons. The flat plain in the south-southeast (bottom/lower right) portion of the image is younger than and cuts off the ends of many of the lava flows that came from the northwest (upper left). Many of the lava flows in this image exhibit channels with levees bounding their margins. As each lava flow was advancing, its outer margins cooled and hardened, forming a channel or tube through which the molten rock continued to advance.

Location near: 17.2°N, 129.0°W
Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Winter

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-10-19