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Laser Provides First 3-D View of Mars’ North Pole
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Caption:
This first three-dimensional picture of Mars' north pole enables scientists to estimate the volume of its water ice cap with unprecedented precision, and to study its surface variations and the heights of clouds in the region for the first time.
Approximately 2.6 million of these laser pulse measurements were assembled into a topographic grid of the north pole with a spatial resolution of 0.6 miles (one kilometer) and a vertical accuracy of 15-90 feet (5-30 meters).
Background Info:
The principal investigator for MOLA is Dr. David E. Smith of Goddard. The MOLA instrument was designed and built by the Laser Remote Sensing Branch of Laboratory for Terrestrial Physics at Goddard. The Mars Global Surveyor Mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for the NASA Office of Space Science.
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Mars | |
| System | ||
| Target Type | Planet | |
| Mission | Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) | |
| Instrument Host | Mars Global Surveyor | |
| Host Type | Orbiter | |
| Instrument | Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) | |
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Color, Water | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 1999-01-07 | |
| Date in Caption | ||
| Image Credit | NASA/JPL/GSFC | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA01337 | |
| Identifier | PIA01337 | |
