The story of the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft began with a proposal to NASA in 1985. The first MOC flew on Mars Observer, a spacecraft that was lost before it reached the red planet in 1993. After 14 years of effort, a MOC finally reached the desired mapping orbit. On the first day of the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission (March 1999) MOC was greeted with this view of "Happy Face Crater" smiling back at the camera from its location on the east side of Gale Crater. The picture was taken by the MOC's red and blue wide angle cameras. The bluish-white tone is caused by wintertime frost. Have an extra happy #marsmonday folks! Credit: NASA/Malin Space Science Systems #nasa #mars #crater #happyface