PIA04475: Polar Polygon Patterns
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows martian polar polygon patterns during southern spring, as the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was subliming away. Frost remaining in shallow cracks and depressions reveals a fantastic polygonal pattern.
 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:  540 x 810 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04475.tif (438.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04475.jpg (116.3 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:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-338, 22 April 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image was taken during southern spring, as the seasonal carbon dioxide frost cap was subliming away. Frost remaining in shallow cracks and depressions reveals a fantastic polygonal pattern. Similar polygons occur in the Earth's arctic and antarctic regions-on Earth such polygons are related to the freeze and thaw of ground ice. The picture covers an area about 3 km (about 1.9 mi) wide near 71.9°S, 11.1°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-04-22