PIA03912: Frosted Crater

Target Name: Mars Is a satellite of: Sol (our sun) Mission: 2001 Mars Odyssey Spacecraft: 2001 Mars Odyssey Instrument: Thermal Emission Imaging System Product Size: 1082 samples x 2701 lines Produced By: Arizona State University Producer ID: 20020802A Full-Res TIFF: PIA03912.tif (1.257 MB) Full-Res JPEG: PIA03912.jpg (259.9 kB)

Original Caption Released with Image: (Released 2 August 2002) This image, located near 70.6 N and 102.95 E, displays a frosted crater in the Martian northern hemisphere. This image was taken during the northern spring as the CO2 ice cap starts to sublimate and recede. Exposures of the underlying surface are prominent around topographic features because of the exposure they provide. Features that are more exposed to the relatively warm air will be sublimated away more quickly. South facing slopes in the northern hemisphere are also exposed to more sunlight, which also helps to sublimate the frost. This is why the north rim of the large crater has more exposures of the relatively dark underlying material than the southern (north facing) wall. There are also what appears to be small slides of material on the crater walls. This may be sand that becomes unstable as the frost cover thins. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Arizona State University