New Images of Dust Devils, Dunes and "The Face"
May 24, 2001

"The Face" imaged by Viking in 1976 (left) and Mars Surveyor in 2001 (right). More Mars Images

       Pictures of intriguing Martian features such as dust storms, dust devils, 3-D sand dunes, a recent image of "the face," and dark streaks that may be caused by dust avalanches have been released by the imaging team for NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft that have been taken during the extended mission phase that began February 1, 2001.

       The newly released images are products of the main objectives for the camera team during the extended mission, including:

       - Continued daily monitoring of Martian weather, storms,
       and polar cap changes;

       - Looking for changes caused by frost, wind, slope
       movements, and gully action with the high-resolution camera;

       - The opportunity to take a second look at features
       previously seen by the camera by turning and pointing the
       spacecraft to provide "3-D" (stereoscopic) views of certain
       areas;

       - Collecting pictures of other geologic features of
       interest, including sites being considered for the two 2003
       Mars Exploration Rover landings.

       The images are available at these sites:
       http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/extended_may2001/
       http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov
       http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs

       Mars Global Surveyor is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The Mars Orbiter Camera is operated by Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, Calif.