PIA04171: East Candor's Rocks
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows light-toned, layered rock outcrops found in eastern Candor Chasma, part of the vast Valles Marineris trough system on Mars.
 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:  2048 x 4240 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1196  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04171.tif (8.692 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04171.jpg (1.842 MB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

27 August 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows light-toned, layered rock outcrops found in eastern Candor Chasma, part of the vast Valles Marineris trough system. Rocks such as these have been known to occur in the Valles Marineris since the 1971-1972 Mariner 9 mission. Whether they formed in rock that was exposed by the opening (by faulting) of the Candor Chasma trough, or formed in the trough after it was formed, is a matter of on-going debate and discussion within the Mars science community.

Location near: 6.3°S, 69.3°W
Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Southern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-08-27