Public domain
Ice-Rich Terrain of the Northern Plains
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This image shows a surface shaped by ice. Funnel-shaped craters scattered throughout the image are interpreted as impacts that once had the classic bowl shape, but have now expanded via sublimation. At high resolution the surface is divided by polygonal fractures, spaced a few meters apart. These polygons are common on the northern plains and were seen by the Phoenix Lander. They form when annual temperature cycles cause the ice to fracture as it expands and shrinks.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionCredit lineIce-Rich Terrain of the Northern Plains. NASA/JPL, 2021-05-24. Public domain. ID: PIA24620.
