Springe direkt zu Inhalt

Flight over the north polar ice cap of Mars

The north polar ice cap of Mars appears like a gigantic spiral out of ice and snow. Dark troughs in which wind-transported dust and deposits accumulated, alternate with white, ice-covered mounds.

Video: "Flight over the North Polar Ice Cap of Mars" from 2017 [2:19 min]
Data: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, NASA MGS MOLA Science Team, NASA AMES
Copyright: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)

 

The animated permanent ice cap has a diameter of about 1100 kilometers and stands up to three kilometers above the surroundings. It is also termed summer ice cap and is predominantly made up of water ice.

Link to press release: North Polar Ice Cap (May 11, 2017) 
(with option to download the full resolution video)