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PIA05946: Carbon Dioxide Mesas
 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:  1343 x 2015 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-851
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05946.tif (2.709 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05946.jpg (432.6 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:

16 September 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows two large and many small mesas composed of frozen carbon dioxide on the south polar cap of Mars. MGS has observed the south polar cap through three whole summers, and MOC images have shown that the scarps on these mesas retreat an average of 3 meters--some retreat faster, some a bit slower--per martian summer. The south polar cap is the most rapidly-changing landscape on Mars. These mesas are located near 86.5°S, 358.5°W. The image covers an area approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) across and is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-09-16