PIA04212: Polygons and Craters
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows polygons enhanced by subliming seasonal frost in the martian south polar region. The circular features are degraded meteor impact craters.
 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:  672 x 1247 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1203  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04212.tif (839 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04212.jpg (248.8 kB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

3 September 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows polygons enhanced by subliming seasonal frost in the martian south polar region. Polygons similar to these occur in frozen ground at high latitudes on Earth, suggesting that perhaps their presence on Mars is also a sign that there is or once was ice in the shallow subsurface. The circular features are degraded meteor impact craters.

Location near: 72.2°S, 310.3°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:
2005-09-03