Planet Mars: Thickly Frosted Polar Gullies | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Carbon dioxide frost from the past winter still thickly blankets this terrain imaged in early Martian spring. Dark blob-like surface markings show the initial hints at the coming defrosting and soon these dark marks will cover the entire scene before the frost dissipates entirely in summer.
Of special interest in this image are the gullies that are visible at regular intervals leading from the tops of the high-standing mesas to the lower terrain. During defrosting, these gullies will become active and they will host flows of a slurry of frost, gas, and underlying rocky material. The cold carbon dioxide frost temperatures mean that no liquid water is involved.
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) ice blocks on Mars may dig gullies as they slide and sublimate in the thin atmosphere. Sublimation is the transition of a substance from solid to gas without becoming liquid.
Repeated observations of these sites allow us to understand these seasonal effects on Mars and comparison to other years give us valuable insight into the variability of Mars’ current climate.
This HiRISE enhanced color camera image (less than 1 km in size) was captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) at an altitude of 251 km (~156 miles).
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spent over twenty years (2006-2026) orbiting the Red Planet, collecting valuable scientific data.
The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE). It was built by BAE Systems 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 (SMD), Washington.
Image Date: Feb. 3, 2026
Release Date: Aug. 25, 2026
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