PIA08055: Polar Summer
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows south polar mesas composed largely of solid carbon dioxide separated by generally circular depressions.
 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:  2048 x 3132 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1425  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA08055.tif (6.421 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA08055.jpg (883 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:

6 April 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows south polar mesas composed largely of solid carbon dioxide separated by generally circular depressions. The arcuate scarps, which delineate the mesas, retreat approximately 3 meters per Mars year (two Earth years), owing to sublimation which occurs primarily during the martian summer months.

Location near: 86.9°S, 340.2°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-04-07