PIA06809: Aligned Defrosting 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:  672 x 1008 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems
 Producer ID:  MOC2-821
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06809.tif (678.3 kB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06809.jpg (141.9 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

17 August 2004
This July 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a group of aligned barchan sand dunes in the martian north polar region. At the time, the dunes were covered with seasonal frost, but the frost had begun to sublime away, leaving dark spots and dark outlines around the dunes. The surrounding plains exhibit small, diffuse spots that are also the result of subliming seasonal frost. This northern spring image, acquired on a descending ground track (as MGS was moving north to south on the "night" side of Mars) is located near 78.8°N, 34.8°W. The image covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) across and sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-08-17