PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA04583: Flows on Olympus Mons
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows Olympus Mons on Mars is the largest volcano in the Solar System. The surface is rugged, with many overlapping lava flow structures, all of which are mantled by a thick blanket of dust and wind-scoured sediment.
 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:  540 x 810 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04583.tif (438.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04583.jpg (85.31 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:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-396, 19 June 2003

Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the Solar System. While it is considerably taller than Mount Everest, its slopes tend to be 1° to 5° over most of the volcano. With such low slopes, one would not really "climb" to the summit of Olympus Mons, one would instead hike. This very high resolution Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) view of the middle western flank of Olympus Mons shows, however, that it would not be an easy place to hike. The surface is rugged, with many overlapping lava flow structures, all of which are mantled by a thick blanket of dust and wind-scoured sediment. This image is near 19.9°N, 135.5°W, and illuminated from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-06-19