Everything is (Well) Illuminated

March 18, 2019

Map Projected Browse Image
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The south polar layered deposits are icy layers that have been deposited over millions of years, preserving a climate history of Mars. In this image the layers are well illuminated to accentuate the topography.

A prior image of this location was acquired with the layered slope facing away from the sun, placing the layers in shadow. (The top of the cutout image is at a higher elevation.)

The map is projected here at a scale of 50 centimeters (19.7 inches) per pixel. (The original image scale is 49.9 centimeters [19.6 inches] per pixel [with 2 x 2 binning]; objects on the order of 150 centimeters [59.1 inches] across are resolved.) North is up.

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.