PIA07329: North Polar Ice
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows detailed, pitted nature of the martian north polar residual ice cap. As water ice sublimes away a little bit each summer, dark-floored pits have formed, trapping dust and other debris.
 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:  1177 x 1536 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-991  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA07329.tif (1.81 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA07329.jpg (653.7 kB)  

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Original Caption Released with Image:

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image illustrates very well the detailed, pitted nature of the north polar residual ice cap. As water ice sublimes away a little bit each summer, dark-floored pits have formed, trapping dust and other debris.

Location near: 85.1°N, 284.6°W
200 m scale bar = ~219 yards
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Summer

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2005-02-03