PDS logoPlanetary Data System
PDS Information
Find a Node - Use these links to navigate to any of the 8 publicly accessible PDS Nodes.

This bar indicates that you are within the PDS enterprise which includes 6 science discipline nodes and 2 support nodes which are overseen by the Project Management Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Each node is led by an expert in the subject discipline, supported by an advisory group of other practitioners of that discipline, and subject to selection and approval under a regular NASA Research Announcement.
Click here to return to the Photojournal Home Page Click here to view a list of Photojournal Image Galleries Photojournal_inner_header
Latest Images  |  Spacecraft & Technology  |  Animations  |  Space Images App  |  Feedback  |  Photojournal Search  

PIA04736: North Polar Dune Patterns
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dark, windblown sand forming spectacular geometric patterns in the north polar sand seas 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:  601 x 902 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04736.tif (542.9 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04736.jpg (89 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. MOC2-478, 9 September 2003

Dark, windblown sand forms spectacular geometric patterns in the north polar sand seas, particularly in regions where strong winds converge from different directions over the course of a year. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) picture shows some of these dark dune patterns near 77.8°N, 284.4°W. The picture covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-09-12