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Polar Summer
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- Full-Res JPEG (2048 x 3120) (1.1 MB)
- Full-Res TIFF (2048 x 3120) (6.4 MB)
Caption:
30 December 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroding mesas of frozen carbon dioxide in the martian south polar residual cap. During the summer season, the scarps that bound each pit and mesa in the south polar region become dark as carbon dioxide sublimes away. The darkening might result from the roughening of the surfaces from which ice is subliming, or from the concentration of trace amounts of dust on these slopes, or both.
Location near
: 84.7°S, 48.2°W
Image width
: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from
: upper left
Season
: Southern Summer
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 Camera (MOC) | |
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Dust, Grayscale | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2005-12-30 | |
| Date in Caption | 2005-12-30 | |
| Image Credit | NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03266 | |
| Identifier | PIA03266 | |
