Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera Image Gallery

Instructions

NOTE: What Does "Broken Icon" Mean?

When using the Malin Space Science Systems MOC Image Gallery, if you click on an image file and get this symbol, it means that the image is too big to be viewed with your web browsing software (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.). This is often the case for full-resolution MOC narrow angle images, because many of them are thousands of lines long (especially those that appear long and skinny in the map-projected icon view you see on your screen).

When you see this broken icon, go back to the previous page, find the link to the image you want to download, and either click and hold down your mouse button (on single-button mouse) or select one of the other buttons (on multiple-button mouse) and hold down until a menu pops up. On this menu, select the option that allows you to save the linked material as a file (i.e., "Save this Link As" or "Download link to disk..."). Save it as "source" to your disk, then view the image using other software such as an image processing package.

Policy Regarding Use of Processed Images

Narrow Angle Gallery Instructions:

The Narrow Angle Gallery contains Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired by the narrow angle camera system. During the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission, these images typically have spatial resolutions between 1.5 and 12 meters per pixel. Each individual, tiny square that makes up a digital image is a "pixel." If the resolution of a MOC image is 1.5 meters per pixel, it means that each little square in the image represents 1.5 meters by 1.5 meters of the martian surface. (1.5 meters is about 4.9 feet).
At "http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/", select "MOC Narrow Angle Gallery".
The Narrow Angle Gallery page shows a simple cylindrical projected map of Mars divided into 30 rectangular regions. These regions were defined more than 30 years ago and are standard areas for Mars maps produced by the U.S. Geological Survey. Select a region by clicking in one of the 30 boxes.
The next page you will see is a photomosaic of the region you selected. The photomosaic was made by the U.S. Geological Survey using images from the 1970s Viking 1 and Viking 2 orbiters. On this page, you will see light blue boxes and lines. These boxes and lines represent the location and size of MGS MOC narrow angle images. Select one of these lines or boxes and click on it.
The next page you get is either that of the image you selected, or it is a list of two or more images that overlap each other. If you get a list, read the "Description" and select the one that sounds interesting.
Each narrow angle image in the MSSS MOC Image Gallery has its own web page. On these pages, you will sometimes see only 1 picture, and sometimes 2 pictures. If there are two pictures, the one on the left is the narrow angle image you selected, and the one on the right is a context frame, usually taken at ~240 meters per pixel, showing the location of the narrow angle image (as a white box) relative to the surrounding terrain. The context images were taken simultaneously with the narrow angle images by using the MOC red wide angle camera. If there is only one picture, it is a narrow angle camera image. There are two reasons why there might not be a context image: (1) no context image was commanded by the MOC team, or (2) the context image was commanded but it was never received back on Earth.
The comment you see in italics above the picture(s) identifies the original goal of the image when it was targeted. Sometimes, the comment will seem to not quite match what is shown in the image. This is because some targets were missed, or the portion of the image containing the target was lost during transmission to Earth. Images with comments that say "sample" were randomly acquired, while those with detailed descriptions were targeted by a human being.
You will see several options for viewing the images presented here. If you click on the small image presented on your screen, you will get a quick browse view of the image at slightly higher resolution. The other options on the page offer the opportunity to download the image in map-projected or not-projected form, as well as the raw NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) formats. Many of these images are quite large and may take several minutes (or more) to download. If you have a slow modem, we suggest downloading the JPEG verion(s) first to see what the image looks like. For best quality, download the GIF version of the image, but it will take longer. Keep in mind that a "broken icon" (see above) means that the image is present on the web server, but is too large to be viewed with your web browsing software. In these cases, use the "save this link as" option, download to your desktop, then view with some other image viewing or processing software. To view images in NASA PDS format (.IMG and .IMQ), please see the NASA Planetary Data System web site for instructions and free software.

Wide Angle Gallery Instructions:

The Wide Angle Gallery contains Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired by the red and blue wide angle cameras. During the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission, these images typically have spatial resolutions between 240 meters and 7.5 kilometers per pixel. Each individual, tiny square that makes up a digital image is a "pixel." If the resolution of a MOC image is 240 meters per pixel, it means that each little square in the image represents 240 meters by 240 meters of the martian surface. (240 meters is about 787 feet).
At "http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/", select "MOC Wide Angle Gallery".
The Wide Angle Gallery page shows a simple cylindrical projected map of Mars divided into 30 rectangular regions. These regions were defined more than 30 years ago and are standard areas for Mars maps produced by the U.S. Geological Survey. Select a region by clicking in one of the 30 boxes.
The next page you will see is a list of MGS MOC Mission Phases and Subphases and the dates covered by each subphase. By selecting one of these date ranges, you can access the wide angle pictures taken within the region you selected in the previous step. Select a mission subphase by selecting a range of dates.
The next page you will see is a list of all of the wide angle images acquired in the region of interest for the time range you selected. Using the latitude, longitude, camera color (red or blue), and comment information, select an image you would like to see.
Each wide angle image in the MSSS MOC Image Gallery has its own web page. Many of these images were taken as context frames for a corresponding narrow angle frame. Others were acquired for regional mapping or weather monitoring purposes.
The comment you see in italics above the picture(s) identifies the original goal of the image when it was targeted. If the comment says it is a context image, the number you see refers to a narrow angle image that was commanded to be taken at the same time, so its three-character prefix (Mission Subphase identifier) is the same as that of the context image. In some cases, a context image was received on Earth but its corresponding narrow angle image was not received. In such a case, the context image appears in the Wide Angle Gallery (as do all context images) but not in the Narrow Angle Gallery.
You will see several options for viewing the images presented here. If you click on the small image presented on your screen, you will get a quick browse view of the image at slightly higher resolution. The other options on the page offer the opportunity to download the image in map-projected or not-projected form, as well as the raw NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) formats. For very large regional wide angle images, such as those from Science Campaign A and Science Campaign B, a map-projected version may not be available. Some of the images are quite large and may take several minutes (or more) to download. If you have a slow modem, we suggest downloading the JPEG verion(s) first to see what the image looks like. For best quality, download the GIF version of the image, but it will take longer. Keep in mind that a "broken icon" (see above) means that the image is present on the web server, but is too large to be viewed with your web browsing software. In these cases, use the "save this link as" option, download to your desktop, then view with some other image viewing or processing software. To view images in NASA PDS format (.IMG and .IMQ), please see the NASA Planetary Data System web site for instructions and free software.

Global Image Gallery Instructions:

The Global Image Gallery contains Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images acquired by the red and blue wide angle cameras for the purpose of daily global monitoring of changing weather, frost, and albedo patterns. During the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission, these images typically have spatial resolutions of about 7.5 kilometers per pixel down the center of the image. The aspect ratio of the images is usually varied to account for the non-circularity of the MGS orbit and the non-spherical nature of Mars; the gain and offset are often changed several times during the acquisition of the image to maximize contrast under changing lighting conditions from south terminator to north terminator. Each individual, tiny square that makes up a digital image is a "pixel." If the resolution of a MOC image is 7.5 kilometers per pixel, it means that each little square down the center of the image represents 7.5 kilometers by 7.5 kilometers of the martian surface. (7.5 kilometers is about 4.7 miles).
At "http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/", select "MOC Global Image Gallery".
The Global Image Gallery page shows a chart that groups the images by Mission Subphases and the dates covered by each subphase. By selecting one of these date ranges, you can access daily global images.
The next page you will see is a list of all of the dates that occurred during that mission subphase. The dates are listed by Year-Month-Date (YYYY-MM-DD). Select a date of interest.
The next page lists all global images received on Earth that were acquired on the date you selected. Both red and blue camera images are presented. Choose an image of interest by clicking on its ID number.
Each global image in the MSSS MOC Image Gallery has its own web page.
You will see several options for viewing the images presented here. No map projected versions of the daily global images are currently available. The other options on the page offer the opportunity to download the image in not-map-projected form, as well as the raw NASA Planetary Data System (PDS) formats. To view images in NASA PDS format (.IMG and .IMQ), please see the NASA Planetary Data System web site for instructions and free software.