PIA04620: North Polar Sand Dunes
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows martian north polar ice cap surrounded by fields of dark, windblown sand dunes.
 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:  PIA04620.tif (438.1 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04620.jpg (66.37 kB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-417, 10 July 2003

The martian north polar ice cap is surrounded by fields of dark, windblown sand dunes. This March 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes near 76.5°N, 264.7°W. The steep dune slip faces indicate wind transport of sand from the lower left toward the upper right. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-07-10