Planetary Society logo
  • “Exploration is in our nature.” - Carl Sagan

Zooming in on Mars

Zooming in on Mars
Zooming in on Mars Subtle blue-tray clouds hover over the dusty rose Martian surface near Valles Marineris, a series of interconnected east-west canyons spanning roughly 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles). This is the first color image from the Mars Orbiter Camera aboard Mars Global Surveyor, taken last October 3 about 11 minutes after the spacecraft passed close to the planet for the thirteenth time. It was during these initial passes within the Martian atmosphere that Mars Global Surveyor team members noticed slight movement in an unlatched solar panel, causing mission officials to change the pace of aerobraking, and delaying the mapping portion of the mission one year. Courtesy of Malin Space Science Systems and JPL / NASA