Mars Global Surveyor
Mars Orbiter Camera

Polygon-Cracked Plain

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-1159, 21 July 2005


NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a polygon-cracked plain in the south polar region of Mars. When this picture was acquired in April 2005, the surface was covered with seasonal carbon dioxide frost. Dark spots and streaks indicate areas where the frost had begun to change and sublime away.
Location near: 86.8°S, 300.5°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Spring


Tips for Media Use


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.

To MSSS Home Page