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MGS Approach Image - 262.3° W Longitude

Sept. 10, 1997
This view of Mars from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter shows the broad Elysium plains 'sandwiched' between the dark Utopia plains to the north and the dark diagonal boundary between the Elysium plains and the Tritonis and Cimmerium highlands.

This view of Mars shows the broad Elysium plains (light area in center half of picture) "sandwiched" between the dark Utopia plains to the north and the dark diagonal boundary between the Elysium plains and the Tritonis and Cimmerium highlands. The light area near the center of the illuminated planet is the Elysium volcanic center; the bright feature near the edge of the volcanic center is probably a morning cloud. The large impact basin Hellas can be seen at the very bottom of the image; its bland gray appearance suggests that it is filled by fogs and hazes associated with the south polar cap.

Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego, CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA and Denver, CO.

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