PIA04689: Top of Olympus Mons
 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:  1537 x 2305 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04689.tif (3.278 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04689.jpg (470.2 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. MOC2-455, 17 August 2003

Olympus Mons is considered to be the largest and tallest volcano in the Solar System. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows the western summit region of Olympus Mons. This area is at an elevation just over 20 km (12 mi) above the 0 km martian datum. The bright feature on the right (east) side of the image is the uppermost wall of the caldera (collapse pit) at the top of the volcano. This image shows a lava flow that was cut by the pit walls when the caldera collapse occurred. Below (south of) the lava flow is a narrow channel formed by lava at some time in the distant past. This view of the summit region of Olympus Mons is located near 10.6°N, 134.0°W. The area shown is about 7.9 km (4.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the right.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-08-20