The Mars Polar Lander arrived at Mars on December 3,
1999. TES analysis of recent data from the mapping phase demonstrates that the
spacecraft landing site was
bare ground, free of -128°C (-200°F) dry ice that completely covered this region
during the winter. The image to the left shows the 2pm and 2am temperatures
of data within the landing site on December, 2, 1999.
The plus sign marks the landing site. The thick
white line shows the location of the polar layered deposits. Temperatures
are given in Celsius. The temperature of CO2 frost (dry ice) on Mars is
145K (-128°C), approximately -200°F. Temperatures above 200K show the
absence of CO2 frost. These temperatures were calculated from thermal
radiation at a wavelength of 30µm. Click on the image to see an enlarged
view.
Temperatures at the South Polar Region and MPL Site Just Prior to MPL arrival.
These temperatures are from the TES thermal bolometer which measures
radiant energy from 6µm to 100µm. This spectral region includes
the strong 15µm atmospheric CO2 band and the
9µm atmospheric dust band, so atmospheric temperatures can have a small
effect on the measured temperature.
The current cap edge is between 80°S and 90°S. The current cap
is asymetric, which is typical for the summer south polar cap.
Watch the south polar cap retreat
by clicking here.
The first two images show the temperatures in the Martian south
polar region just prior to th earrival of the Mars polar lander.
The color transition from blue to green shows the current
edge of the south polar cap. Circles are spaced at 10 degrees of
latitude. 0° longitude is straight up.
The third figure shows the current Albedo of the polar cap.
The region that was made up of dark
CO2, or Cryptic CO2, has sublimed
away much quicker than other areas of the seasonal polar cap.
The fourth image shows the sublimation rate of CO2 in
kg/day/m².
The green outline
marks the area considered for landing. Click on the image to see an
enlarged view.
The first two images show the temperature data for the
Martian Polar
Landing region just prior to its arrival.
The left image is 2 am data and the right image is 2 pm
data.
The third image is the Lambert albedo and the fourth image is the estimated
sublimation rate in kg per square meter per day.
There is no dry ice remaining in these zoomed-in images.
The plus sign is the targeted landing site. Click on the image to
see an enlarged view.
A comparison with
historical data (MGS TES and Viking IRTM) reveals a polar cap that
that is receding in much the same manner in 1977, 1997, and 1999. This is
good as the location and time of the Polar Landing was based polar temperature
data from the IRTM, and later verified with TES pre-mapping data.
Questions should be addressed to Tim Titus
or Jeff Johnson.
This page last updated Sep 12, 2000.
The Mars Polar Lander arrived at Mars on December 3,
1999. TES analysis of recent data from the mapping phase demonstrates that the
spacecraft landing site was
bare ground, free of -128°C (-200°F) dry ice that completely covered this region
during the winter. The image to the left shows the 2pm and 2am temperatures
of data within the landing site on December, 2, 1999.
The plus sign marks the landing site. The thick
white line shows the location of the polar layered deposits. Temperatures
are given in Celsius. The temperature of CO2 frost (dry ice) on Mars is
145K (-128°C), approximately -200°F. Temperatures above 200K show the
absence of CO2 frost. These temperatures were calculated from thermal
radiation at a wavelength of 30µm. Click on the image to see an enlarged
view.
Night_Temp(!Uo!NC).gif)
Day_Temp(!Uo!NC).gif)
Day_Albedo(L).gif)
Day_SubRate.gif)
Night_Temp(!Uo!NC).gif)
Day_Temp(!Uo!NC).gif)
Day_Albedo(L).gif)
Day_SubRate.gif)
Questions should be addressed to Tim Titus
or Jeff Johnson.