PIA03966: Tikhonravov Layers
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows some of the circular pits and spectacular buttes and mesas formed in the frozen carbon dioxide of the martian south polar residual cap.
 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:  1024 x 2121 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1132  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA03966.tif (2.174 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA03966.jpg (380 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

24 June 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a view of some of the circular pits and spectacular buttes and mesas formed in the frozen carbon dioxide of the martian south polar residual cap. The scarps that bound each pit and mesa have been observed by MOC to retreat at an average rate of about 3 meters (~3 yards) during each southern summer season that the spacecraft has been in orbit. A new summer season will start in mid-August 2005.

Location near: 86.9°S, 5.3°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-06-24