PIA04791: Dark Sand Dunes
 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:  674 x 1011 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04791.tif (655.3 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04791.jpg (55.4 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. MOC2-509, 10 October 2003

This April 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dark sand dunes in a crater north of Syrtis Major near 27.1°N, 297.2°W. The steepest slopes on each dune face toward the bottom/lower left of the image, indicating that the dominant winds that influenced their formation came from the north (the top of the image). Layers are exposed in a butte at the lower right corner of the picture; this butte is a remnant of layered rock that once covered the entire crater floor on which the dunes occur. This picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) wide and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-10-14