This image shows the northern polar ice cap on Mars. White areas are primarily water ice that exists throughout the year. Light brown areas near the ice are the "polar layered terrain", a mix of layers of ice and dust. A darker brown band of dune fields surrounds the polar cap. A huge canyon, Chasma Boreale, slices through the ice cap - from upper left towards lower right, starting at the 10 o'clock position, in this image. The northern ice cap is about 1,100 km (680 miles) across. This image, captured by the Mars Global Surveyor orbiter in March 1999, shows the North Pole during the Martian summer season.
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/ Malin Space Science Systems.

This is a picture of the ice cap at the North Pole on Mars. This picture was shot from Mars orbit in 1999 by a spacecraft called Mars Global Surveyor. The white regions are water ice. The ice cap is about 1,100 km (680 miles) across. Light brown areas are a mix of ice and dust and are called "polar layered terrain". Dark brown areas around the ice cap are sand dunes. There is a big canyon in the ice cap on the left side of the picture; it is called Chasma Boreale. It was summer in the northern part of Mars when this picture was taken.
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/ Malin Space Science Systems.

This is a picture of the ice cap at the North Pole on Mars. This picture was shot from Mars orbit in 1999 by a spacecraft called Mars Global Surveyor. The white regions are water ice. The ice cap is about 1,100 km (680 miles) across. Light brown areas are a mix of ice and dust and are called "polar layered terrain". Dark brown areas around the ice cap are sand dunes. There is a big canyon in the ice cap on the left side of the picture; it is called Chasma Boreale. It was summer in the northern part of Mars when this picture was taken.
Image courtesy of NASA/JPL/ Malin Space Science Systems.

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