PIA04726: South Polar Polygons
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows patterned ground, a mosaic of polygonal forms, highlighted by seasonal frost in the south polar region of Mars.
 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:  1025 x 1538 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04726.tif (1.578 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04726.jpg (333.7 kB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-473, 4 September 2003

Looking somewhat like the roadmap of a city on Earth, this August 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows patterned ground--a mosaic of polygonal forms--highlighted by seasonal frost in the south polar region near 86.3°S, 310.2°W. Dark surfaces in this springtime view are areas from which cold, carbon dioxide frost has been subliming away. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-09-05