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PIA06976: Fretted Terrain Valleys
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows shallow tributary valleys in the Ismenius Lacus fretted terrain region of Mars. These valleys exhibit a variety of typical fretted terrain valley wall and floor textures, and a lineated, pitted material.
 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 3161 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-895  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06976.tif (2.646 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06976.jpg (450.1 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:

30 October 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows shallow tributary valleys in the Ismenius Lacus fretted terrain region of northern Arabia Terra. These valleys exhibit a variety of typical fretted terrain valley wall and floor textures, including a lineated, pitted material somewhat reminiscent of the surface of a brain. Origins for these features are still being debated within the Mars science community; there are no clear analogs to these landforms on Earth. This image is located near 39.9°N, 332.1°W. The picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-10-30