Polygons in Martian Frost

Credit: Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems, Posted on: Tuesday, 22 July 2003, 06:00 CDT Download full size image

This June 2003 Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a polygonal pattern developed in seasonal carbon dioxide frost in the martian southern hemisphere. The frost accumulated during the recent southern winter; it is now spring, and the carbon dioxide frost is subliming away. This image is located near 80.4°S, 200.2°W; it is illuminated by sunlight from the upper left, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across.

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