Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
Seasons Greetings from the Martian North Pole
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-266, 22 December 2000
(A) North Polar Cap Layers and Frost on the First Day of Summer
86.5°N, 324.0°W --- 16 December 2000 --- illuminated from lower left
10 km (6.2 mi) wide by 3 km (1.9 mi) high
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(B) North Polar Ice Cap Surface
85.7°N, 307.9°W --- 2 December 2000 --- illuminated from upper left
2 km (1.2 mi) wide by 0.9 km (0.6 mi) high
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(C) Complex exposures of North Polar layered material
87.0°N, 263.8°W --- 12 December 2000 --- illuminated from upper left
10 km (6.2 mi) wide by 3 km (1.9 mi) high
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On Mars, Northern Hemisphere Summer (and Southern Hemisphere Winter)
began on December 16, 2000. In this December holiday season, many
children across the U.S. and elsewhere are perhaps anticipating an
annual visit from a generous and jolly red-suited soul from the
Earth's North Pole. As the December holidays were approaching, the
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) was busy
acquiring new views of the region around the martian north pole. The
three best views obtained this month are shown here. The top (A) and
bottom (C) views show many layers exposed and eroded into the form of
ridges and troughs on shallow slopes within the martian north polar
cap. The middle (B) view is a picture of the rugged, eroded polar ice
cap surface itself. The layers are believed to have formed over tens
to hundreds of thousands of years by deposition of dust and ice each
cold martian winter. These surfaces today all appear to have been
eroded. The brightest material in each image is frost---temperatures
at this time of year indicate that the frost is composed of frozen
water. In winter, temperatures can be cold enough to freeze carbon
dioxide, as well.
Additional Views of Martian North Polar Features:
- COLOR: "The Martian North Polar Cap in Summer," MOC2-231, May 22, 2000
- "What is a 'Residual' Polar Cap?" MOC2-210, March 8, 2000
- "'Cottage Cheese' Texture on the Martian North Polar Cap in Summer," MOC2-213, March 8, 2000
- "Martian 'Kitchen Sponge,'" MOC2-214, March 8, 2000
- "Gradual Contact Between North Polar Ice and Layers," MOC2-215, March 8, 2000
- "North Polar Cap Stratigraphy," MOC2-148, July 19, 1999
- "Unconformities and Deformation in the North Polar Layered Deposits," MOC2-149, July 19, 1999
- "Frosted Dunes: Chasma Boreale in Early Spring," MOC2-147, July 19, 1999
- "On the Edge: The Retreating Mars Polar Ice Cap," MOC2-116, April 11, 1999
- "MOC Focus Tes Images" (on N Polar Cap), MOC2-83, March 10, 1999
- "Polar Regions: Layered Deposits in North Polar Cap," MOC2-81, December 9, 1998
- "Detailed View of Cliff-face in the North Polar Layered Deposits," MOC2-70, October 19, 1998
- "Martian North Polar Cap on September 12, 1998," MOC2-67, September 19, 1998
Images Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Malin Space Science Systems and the California Institute of
Technology built the MOC using spare hardware from the Mars Observer
mission. MSSS operates the camera from its facilities in San Diego,
CA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Mars Surveyor Operations Project
operates the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft with its industrial
partner, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, from facilities in Pasadena, CA
and Denver, CO.
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