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MOLA topographic images of the two hemispheres of Mars. This image appeared on the cover of Science magazine in May 1999. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) was one of five instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft, which operated in Mars orbit from September 1997 to November 2006. However, the MOLA instrument transmitted ...
It operated as an altimeter until a portion of the laser reached end-of-life in June 2001. The instrument then functioned as a radiometer until October 2006. [12] High resolution topographic map of Mars based on the Mars Global Surveyor laser altimeter research led by Maria Zuber and David Smith. North is at the top.
Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA) colorized shaded-relief maps showing elevations in the western and eastern hemispheres of Mars. (Left): The western hemisphere is dominated by the Tharsis region (red and brown). Tall volcanoes appear white. Valles Marineris (blue) is the long gash-like feature to the right.
The instrument "zaps" rocks on Mars's surface with a laser and collects the light created by the resulting plasma. That light is then analyzed to determine the present elements.
The Mars Observer spacecraft, also known as the Mars Geoscience/Climatology Orbiter, was a robotic space probe launched by NASA on September 25, 1992, to study the Martian surface, atmosphere, climate and magnetic field.
On Mars the oldest areas contain the most craters; the oldest period is called Noachian after the quadrangle Noachis. [2] The Arabia area contains many buttes and ridges. Some believe that during certain climate changes an ice-dust layer was deposited; later, parts were eroded to form buttes. [ 3 ]
The national space agency of Italy (ASI, for Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) provided LaRRI to be used by a possible future Mars orbiter mission with a laser altimeter making extremely precise measurements of the lander's location for fundamental physics studies and precision cartography.
A topographic map created using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. This map shows the elevation Eberswald crater relative to Martian areoid. Based on an estimate by Moore et al. in 2003 of flow volume to the crater at 700 m 3 /s, it is estimated that it would take twenty years to completely fill the crater, ignoring evaporation and ...