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PIA18771: At the Edge of a Polar Cap
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Spacecraft:  Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
 Instrument:  HiRISE
 Product Size:  2880 x 1800 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  University of Arizona/HiRISE-LPL
 Other  
Information: 
Other products from image ESP_035926_2640
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA18771.tif (15.56 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA18771.jpg (796.4 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:

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Formative down-slope winds descending on Mars' North Polar ice cap likely play an important role in transporting sediment from the base of the ice cap into the dune fields that sit beyond the ice cap.

The deep chasm that formed on the polar cap edge is identified as an area of strong down-slope winds and has a clear connection to Mars' largest dune field, Olympia Undae. Repeat HiRISE images from this chasm that specifically targets the dunes, provides the basis to evaluate the sand fluxes which are associated with the dune and ripple movement in this area.

This is a stereo pair with ESP_036176_2640.

HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

Image Addition Date:
2014-05-22