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North Polar Cap

NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a typical martian north polar ice cap texture. The surface is pitted and rough at the scale of several meters. The north polar residual cap consists mainly of water ice, while the south cap is mostly carbon dioxide.
PIA06858
Credits: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
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Description

7 September 2004
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows a 1.4 m/pixel (~5 ft/pixel) view of a typical martian north polar ice cap texture. The surface is pitted and rough at the scale of several meters. The north polar residual cap of Mars consists mainly of water ice, while the south polar residual cap is mostly carbon dioxide. This picture is located near 85.2°N, 283.2°W. The image covers an area approximately 1 km wide by 1.4 km high (0.62 by 0.87 miles). Sunlight illuminates this scene from the lower left.