Tag Archives: CO2 ice

HiRISE: Springtime for Russell Crater

Springtime for Russell Crater. Russell Crater is another favorite of ours, not only for its beauty, but also for the information it provides us for any changes due to sublimation, when a solid state changes directly to a gaseous one. … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Dramatic changes over the south polar cap

The south polar residual cap of carbon dioxide ice rapidly changes. This image was planned as an almost exact match to the illumination and viewing angles of a previous one we took in August 2009. The pits have all expanded … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Geyser season

Springtime in the South Polar region of Mars is a season of exciting activity. The thick coating of carbon dioxide ice that accumulated over the winter begins to sublimate (turn to vapor) as the sun rises higher in the sky … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Dramatic changes over the south polar residual cap

The South Polar residual cap is composed of carbon dioxide ice that persists through each Martian summer. However, it is constantly changing shape. The slopes get more direct illumination at this polar location, so they warm up and sublimate, going … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Thousands of spiders on Mars

As part of the Planet Four citizen science effort, volunteers searched Context Camera images for possible new locations on Mars with “spiders,” or features with radial troughs from which fans emanate in the springtime. We planned this HiRISE image over … Continue reading

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Trace Gas Orbiter: Frosty crater on Mars

This image shows the south-facing rim of a pit crater at 68°S in the Sisyphi Planum region of Mars. It is a colour composite made from images acquired on 2 September 2018 by the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System, … Continue reading

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Mars CO2 ice cap throughout the martian year

This animation shows a side-by-side comparison of CO2 ice at the north (left) and south (right) Martian poles over the course of a typical year (two Earth years). This simulation isn’t based on photos; instead, the data used to create … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Dust and frost

Sand dunes in the north polar regions of Mars show light coatings of pale orange dust blown partially across the dark basaltic sand. Around the edges of the dunes, patches of seasonal dry ice remain. These patches will be gone … Continue reading

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HiRISE: Patches of snow

The North Pole of Mars is surrounded by a vast sea of sand dunes. In this dune field, the dunes are covered by a seasonal cap of dry ice in the winter. In early Martian summer, at the time we … Continue reading

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HiRISE: On the intricacies of carbon dioxide ice

On the intricacies of carbon dioxide ice. Measuring the mass balance of what we call the residual South Polar cap (RSPC) has important climatic implications. This image was requested to detect any vertical changes compared to earlier observations. Beautiful Mars … Continue reading

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