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Gas jets at the Martian south pole
Gas jets on Martian south pole, artwork. These jets consist of carbon dioxide gas emerging from solid carbon dioxide ice on the southern Martian polar ice cap. The jets also throw up a spray of fine sand and dust. They occur following the Martian winter, when temperatures of -130 degrees Celsius freeze part of the planet's carbon dioxide atmosphere. When spring comes, the ice, warmed by the sun, acts like a greenhouse. Pools of gas form under pressure beneath the ice slabs, and eventually force their way out in powerful jets through weak spots in the surface. This artwork was based on data from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS), a camera aboard NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter.
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