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PIA06925: Bedforms in Maja Valles
 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:  836 x 1696 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-873
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06925.tif (1.42 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06925.jpg (287.8 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:

8 October 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows large, light-toned, ripple-like windblown bedforms in a portion of the giant flood channel complex, Maja Valles. Ripples such as these are very common on Mars but not very well understood. They are larger than most ripples on Earth, and smaller than typical dunes. They are usually old, and probably immobile, features. Sometimes, larger, dark sand dunes are seen riding over them (although that is not the case here). If similarly-sized ripples were to be investigated by a Mars rover, they would probably provide critical information that would help determine the nature of bedforms like these all over Mars. The Maja Valles scene shown here is located near 17.7°N, 54.8°W, and covers an area about 1.4 km (0.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-10-08