PIA05996: Dark Polar Dunes
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows the north polar cap of Mars surrounded by fields of dark 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:  768 x 1152 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-738  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA05996.tif (885.9 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA05996.jpg (174.2 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:

26 May 2004
The north polar cap of Mars is surrounded by fields of dark sand dunes. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows several dunes in the north polar region. The winds responsible for them blow from the lower left toward the upper right. The picture is located near 78.6°N, 243.9°W. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left, and the picture covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-05-26