PIA08717: Dark Polar Dunes
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows dunes in the martian north polar region. The dunes are composed of dark, coarse sand. The white areas around the dunes are the last remaining areas of seasonal carbon dioxide frost cover.
 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:  601 x 1807 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-1572  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA08717.tif (1.087 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA08717.jpg (149.4 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:

1 September 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows dunes in the martian north polar region. The dunes are composed of dark, coarse sand. The white areas around the dunes are the last remaining areas of seasonal carbon dioxide frost cover. The solid carbon dioxide accumulates during the autumn and winter and sublimes (goes from solid to gas) away in the spring. This image was taken near the end of the northern spring.

Location near: 78.0°N, 244.5°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Spring

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2006-09-01