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PIA06941: North Polar Layers in Summer
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows some of Mars' north polar layers exposed on a moderately-dipping slope. The bright material at the top is water ice frost; the triangular features are thought to be caused by wind erosion of the frost.
 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:  836 x 3332 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-880  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA06941.tif (2.789 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA06941.jpg (478.2 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:

15 October 2004
It is now early summer in the northern hemisphere on Mars, and this means that the ices of the north polar cap are in full retreat. Exposed from beneath seasonal frost are the eroded layers of what Mars scientists suspect are composed of a mixture of dust and ice (and in some layers, sand). This October 2004 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows some of the north polar layers exposed on a moderately-dipping slope. The bright material at the top of the image is water ice frost; the triangular features are thought to be caused by wind erosion of the frost. This image is located near 87.1°N, 267.4°W, and covers an area about 3 km (1.9 mi) wide. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2004-10-15