The MOC Public Targeting Program was a very popular program that followed the
Mars Global Surveyor
''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through t ...
's pictures of
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmos ...
. A total of 4,636 requests came in from the general public. Of these, 1,086 were photographed by the Mars Observer Camera. Many of the requests eventually resulted in publications. A little more than half of the requests came from a single member of the general public. One of the people wrote in the
Planetary Report
''The Planetary Report'' is a quarterly magazine published by the Planetary Society, featuring articles and photos of Solar System exploration, planetary missions, spacefaring nations, intrepid explorers, planetary science controversies and the l ...
that working with MGS was as exciting as being a football fan able to run a few plays in the
Super Bowl.
[Secosky. J. 2007. "Public involvement." The Planetary Report: 27.19] Images from the Public Target program can be found at http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/
Examples of pictures taken through Public Target program
Image:Layers in a crater in Arabia.JPG, Pedestal craters and layers in Tikonravev Crater
Tikhonravov is a large, eroded crater in the Arabia quadrangle of Mars. It is in diameter and was named after Mikhail Tikhonravov, a Russian rocket scientist. Tikhonravov is believed to have once held a giant lake that drained into the Naktong-Sc ...
in Arabia, as seen by Mars Global Surveyor
''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through t ...
(MGS) with the Mars Orbiter Camera, under the MOC Public Targeting Program. Layers may form from volcanoes
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
, the wind, or by deposition under water. Some researchers believe this crater once held a massive lake.
Image:Gullies and tongue-shaped glacier.jpg, Gullies in a crater in Eridania, north of the large crater Kepler. Also, features that may be remains of old glaciers
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
are present. One, to the right, has the shape of a tongue. Image taken with Mars Global Surveyor
''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through t ...
, under the Public Target program.
Image:Dust devil tracks in Eridania.JPG, Pattern of large and small tracks made by giant dust devils as seen by Mars Global Surveyor.
Image:Gully in Phaethontis.jpg, Group of gullies on north wall of crater that lies west of the crater Newton (41.3047 degrees south latitude, 192.89 east longitide). Image taken with Mars Global Surveyor
''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through t ...
under the MOC Public Targeting Program.
Image:Coprates layers.JPG, Layers in the canyon wall in Coprates quadrangle, as seen by ''Mars Global Surveyor'', under MOC Public Targeting Program.
Image:Lava flow in Elysium.JPG, Lava flow in Elysium. There are many lava flows in the Elysium quadrangle
The Elysium quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Elysium quadrangle is also referred to as MC-15 (Mars Chart-15).
The name Elysium ...
. In this one, the lava flowed toward the upper right. Image taken by ''Mars Global Surveyor'', under the MOC Public Targeting Program.
Image:Exhumed crater in Noachis.JPG, Crater that was buried in another age and is now being exposed by erosion, as seen by the ''Mars Global Surveyor'' under the MOC Public Targeting Program. Image is located in the Noachis quadrangle
The Noachis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Noachis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-27 (Mars Chart-27).
The Noachis quadran ...
.
See also
*
HiWish program HiWish is a program created by NASA so that anyone can suggest a place for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph. It was started in January 2010. In the first few months of the program 3000 people signed up to use HiRIS ...
*
Mars Global Surveyor
''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) was an American robotic space probe developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and launched November 1996. MGS was a global mapping mission that examined the entire planet, from the ionosphere down through t ...
*
Mars Orbiter Camera
References
{{reflist
External links
*http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/
Geology of Mars