MOC Imaging Resumes

9 September 2005
Early on 8 September 2005 (Universal Time), the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) resumed imaging of Mars after a nearly 2-week hiatus to recover the spacecraft from a glitch that put MGS into a protective "safe mode." The MOC was turned on during MGS orbit 29053, while the spacecraft was flying across day side of the planet. MOC then resumed taking pictures on the next orbit, 29054. Shown here is a portion of the first picture acquired following MOC turn-on. The image shows a view of the martian south polar region, as it appeared on 8 September 2005. The image was taken by MOC's red wide angle camera. In this case, the spacecraft began imaging Mars as it passed across the southern terminator, at the bottom of the image. MGS then flew southward, over the polar cap, then northward toward the equator. The equatorial region is further north than the area shown here. The image not only provided the MOC team a confirmation that MOC imaging has resumed, this particular image, in the map-projected form shown here, is being used by the team to assist in setting the exposures for MOC narrow angle camera images that will be acquired from the south polar region over the next several days.

Location near: 90°S
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer