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Today's VIS image shows part of the south polar cap. The sun has just risen on the cap as winter has transitioned into spring. The cap was created over millions of years with deposition of ice and dust during different seasons. The south polar cap is called Australe Planum.

Orbit Number: 89387 Latitude: -85.664 Longitude: 309.93 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2022-02-07 09:52

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.