Polar Polygons on Mars
Explanation:
What's the best way to the city center?
What looks like a
street map of some city on
Earth is actually a series of naturally-formed fragmented
polar polygons on
Mars.
The existence of polar
polygons on
Mars is particularly interesting as they
may indicate regions where water ice lies within a few meters of the surface.
Similar looking polygons are commonly found in the arctic and
Antarctic of Earth,
where they typically form from a repetitive cycle of freezing and thawing.
The
above
image spans a distance
of about 3 kilometers and was taken recently by the orbiting
Mars Global Surveyor.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
