Mars Polar Lander Landing Site Noon-time Temperatures

The Mars Polar Lander will arrive at Mars on December 3, 1999. TES analysis of data from the pre-mapping phase demonstrate the spacecraft is expected to land on bare ground, free of -128°C (-200°F) dry ice that completely covered this region during the winter. This image shows the noon-time temperatures of data within the landing site in January, 1998, almost exactly one Martian year prior to MPL landing. The plus sign marks the landing site. The thick white line shows the location of the polar layered deposits. Temperatures are given in Kelvin. The temperature of CO₂ frost (dry ice) on Mars is 145K (-128°C), approximately -200°F. Temperatures above 200K show the absence of CO₂ frost.