PIA04516: Polygons on Crater Floor
 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:  PIA04516.tif (438.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04516.jpg (93.46 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-357, 11 May 2003

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows a pattern of polygons on the floor of a northern plains impact crater. These landforms are common on crater floors at high latitudes on Mars. Similar polygons occur in the arctic and antarctic regions of Earth, where they indicate the presence and freeze-thaw cycling of ground ice. Whether the polygons on Mars also indicate water ice in the ground is uncertain. The image is located in a crater at 64.8°N, 292.7°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-05-14