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Polar Layers

Dec. 10, 2005
NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows eroded, exposed layered materials in the south polar region of Mars.

10 December 2005
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows eroded, exposed layered materials in the south polar region of Mars. Since Mariner 9 in 1972, the polar layered materials have been assumed to be geologically recent accumulations of dust and ice, but MOC images provide no clear evidence that the materials are particularly young or composed of a specific suite of materials. They might as easily be composed of ancient, sedimentary rock.

Location near: 80.6°S, 230.1°W
Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: upper left
Season: Southern Summer

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