Implications of MOLA Global Roughness, Statistics, and Topography
New insights are emerging as the ongoing high-quality measurements of the Martian surface topography by Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on board the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft increase in coverage, resolution, and diversity. For the first time, a global characterization of the statistical properties of topography is possible. The data were collected during the aerobreaking hiatus, science phasing, and mapping orbits of MGS, and have a resolution of 300-400 m along track, a range resolution of 37.5 cm, a range precision of 1-10 m for surface slopes up to 30 deg., and an absolute accuracy of topography of 13 m. The spacecraft's orbit inclination dictates that nadir observations have latitude coverage of about 87.1S to 87.1N; the addition of observations obtained during a period of off-nadir pointing over the north pole extended coverage to 90N. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.