The scene covers a vast, frost-coated plain south of the martian antarctic circle. The icy terrain in the image has an almost pastel-like character, owing to the mixture of reddish dust both on, in, and under the white frost. One martian year is about 687 Earth days long, thus each of the planet's four seasons are nearly twice as long as seasons on Earth. The dark spot near the center of the image has no name, and its origin is unknown. The picture covers an area about 634 miles across by approximately 771 miles down.
Sunlight illuminates the scene from the upper left.
The new archive contains all the pictures that were taken by Mars Global Surveyor from September 1999 through February 2000 and includes the images that were taken to search for the Mars Polar Lander spacecraft. No evidence of the lander was ever seen. The archive also covers the period of south polar cap retreat through southern spring and into early summer. The spacecraft has been systematically mapping the red planet since March 1999. Archives - Archives of past weeks' Daily Selected News Stories.