|
Lace on Mars
- Click the image above for a larger view
- Full-Res JPEG (2880 x 1800) (1.4 MB)
- Full-Res TIFF (2880 x 1800) (5.2 MB)
Caption:
Map Projected Browse Image
Click on the image for larger version
Some seasonal ice on Mars is transparent so that the sunlight penetrates to the bottom of the ice. Heat from this sunlight can turn the ice directly into a gas in a process called sublimation and this gas can scour channels in the loose dirt under the ice.
Channels formed by sublimation of a layer of seasonal dry ice are so dense in this area that they look like lace . Gas flow erodes channels as it escapes to the surface of the overlying seasonal ice layer seeking the path of least resistance.
Background Info:
The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Cataloging Keywords:
| Name | Value | Additional Values |
|---|---|---|
| Target | Mars | |
| System | ||
| Target Type | Planet | |
| Mission | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) | |
| Instrument Host | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter | |
| Host Type | Orbiter | |
| Instrument | High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) | |
| Detector | ||
| Extra Keywords | Grayscale, Map | |
| Acquisition Date | ||
| Release Date | 2016-12-21 | |
| Date in Caption | ||
| Image Credit | NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona | |
| Source | photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14451 | |
| Identifier | PIA14451 | |
