Mars: Avalanche Season | NASA MRO

Mars: Avalanche Season | NASA MRO

Avalanche captured from Mars orbit by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft

Every spring the sun shines on the side of the stack of layers at the North Pole of Mars known as the north polar layered deposits. The warmth destabilizes the ice and blocks break loose.

When they reach the bottom of the more than 500 meter tall cliff face, the blocks kick up a cloud of dust. The layers beneath are different colors and textures depending on the amount of dust mixed with ice.

Image captured 318.2 km (197.8 miles) above the planet's surface

Mars Location:
Latitude (centered)
83.796°
Longitude (East)
237.006°

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

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Image Date: May 29, 2019
Release Date: September 3, 2019

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