Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera
North Polar Ice
MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-991, 3 February 2005
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
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NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems |
| This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image illustrates very well the detailed, pitted nature of the north polar residual ice cap. As water ice sublimes away a little bit each summer, dark-floored pits have formed, trapping dust and other debris. |
| Location near: 85.1°N, 284.6°W |
| 200 m scale bar = ~219 yards |
| Illumination from: lower left |
| Season: Northern Summer |
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.
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