THE FIRST 3-D VIEW OF THE MARTIAN NORTH POLE!
(MOLA Results)
December 06,1998 - The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimiter (MOLA) instrument flies aboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), currently in orbit around Mars. The instrument uses a laser to measure the elevation of the Martian surface. Approximately 2.6 million measurements were used to create a three-dimensional image of the North polar cap. This map shows canyons as deep as 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) beneath the surface. "Similar features do not occur on any glacial or polar terrain on Earth," said Dr. Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. "They appear to be carved by wind and evaporation of
ice."
AGU Abstract
NASA press release
The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimiter (MOLA) Instrument
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