NASA’s Mars Global
Surveyor (MGS) departed Earth for Mars back on Nov. 7, 1996. Now 10 years
later, the probe continues to score impressive imagery of the red planet, though engineers are working
to restore full communications with the spacecraft.
Shown here is an image taken by the
craft’s Mars Orbiter Camera, or MOC for short.
Two annular, meaning somewhat
circular, clouds are seen in the upper left corner of this mosaic of MOC wide
angle camera daily global mapping images. To the right of the picture’s center
is the Martian north polar cap.
Plying through interplanetary space
after liftoff, the MGS reached Mars on
Sept. 12, 1997. The spacecraft has been relaying views of the planet and its
ever-changing face over the course of the past five Martian years.
More than 240,000 images have been
returned to Earth via MGS.
-- Leonard David
Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
