Mars Picture of the Day: Frosty North Polar Layers

Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-349, 3 May 2003

NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image
is a springtime view of frost-covered layers revealed by an eroded
scarp in the martian north polar cap. The layers are thought to
consist of a mixture of dust, ice, and possibly sand. Some layers are
known to be a source for dark sand that occurs in nearby dunes. During
the summer, this surface would be considerably darker because most
of the bright frost sublimes away during the spring season.
The picture covers an area
about 3 km (1.9 mi)
wide near
85.2°N, 4.4°W.
Sunlight illuminates the scene from the
lower left.

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, California.
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,
California and Denver, Colorado.