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PIA02800: The Martian North Polar Cap in Summer
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the martian north polar cap on March 13, 1999, in early northern summer. The light-toned surfaces are residual water ice that remains through the summer season.
 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:  1368 x 1319 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-231  
 Addition Date:  2000-05-22 
 Primary Data Set:  MGS EDRs 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA02800.tif (4.691 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA02800.jpg (162 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:

This is a wide angle view of the martian north polar cap as it appeared to the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) in early northern summer. The picture was acquired on March 13, 1999, near the start of the Mapping Phase of the MGS mission. The light-toned surfaces are residual water ice that remains through the summer season. The nearly circular band of dark material surrounding the cap consists mainly of sand dunes formed and shaped by wind. The north polar cap is roughly 1100 kilometers (680 miles) across.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/MSSS

Image Addition Date:
2000-05-22