South Polar Details, NASA Mars Images

22 September 2005 This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows details among some of the eroded layer outcrops of the martian south polar region. Much of the south polar region of Mars is covered by a thick unit of layered material. For decades, the layers have been assumed to consist of a mixture of dust and ice, but it is equally possible that the materials are sedimentary rocks. This image was captured during southern spring, at a time when some of the surface was still covered by seasonal carbon dioxide (CO2) frost. Location near: 86.5°S, 116.6°W Image width: width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi) Illumination from: upper left Season: Southern Spring http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA06344
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems