PIA03008: Frozen Frozen CO2
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a view of frozen carbon dioxide in the south polar residual cap of Mars. Much of the south polar residual cap exhibits terrain that resembles stacks of sliced Swiss cheese.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) 
 Spacecraft:  Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
 Instrument:  Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) 
 Product Size:  2048 x 2944 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1238  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA03008.tif (6.035 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA03008.jpg (1.576 MB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

2 October 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a view of frozen carbon dioxide in the south polar residual cap of Mars. Much of the south polar residual cap exhibits terrain that resembles stacks of sliced Swiss cheese, but this portion of the cap lacks the typical, circular depressions that characterize much of the region. Carbon dioxide on Mars freezes at a temperature of around 148 Kelvins, which is -125°C or about -193°F.

Location near: 87.2°S, 28.4°W
Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-10-02