21 September 2006
This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows
cracked, layered plains-forming material in the western part of Utopia
Planitia, Mars. Investigators have speculated that ice might be -- or
might once have been -- present in the ground, and changes in temperature
and the amount of ice over time may have led to the formation of these
cracks. But no one is certain just how these features formed.
Location near: 45.0°N, 276.1°W
Image width: ~3 km (~1.9 mi)
Illumination from: lower left
Season: Northern Spring
