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South Polar Autumn

March 18, 2006
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a portion of Mars' south polar residual cap. The darkened edges of the pits and mesas are evidence of the removal, by sublimation, of frozen carbon dioxide during the martian summer.

18 March 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a portion of the south polar residual cap. The darkened edges of the pits and mesas are evidence of the removal - by sublimation -- of frozen carbon dioxide during the recent martian summer. Summer ended and autumn began the day this image was acquired in January 2006.

Location near: 86.8°S, 90.5°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer/Autumn

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