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Mars south polar cap
~420 km
Measured
Mars Global Surveyor, 17 April 2000. Residual south polar cap about 420 km across in that summer view.
In Mars Global Surveyor’s 17 April 2000 summer image, the residual south polar cap is about 420 km across. Seasonal. Carbon dioxide frost in that view.
Documentary plate
NASA / JPL / MSSS. Mars Global Surveyor MOC, 17 April 2000. PIA02393. About 420 km left to right.
What it supports
A NASA/JPL image scale on a dated MOC plate. The cap shrinks and grows. 420 km is that summer’s left-to-right span.
What it does not
Not a fixed diameter of Mars. Not Mercury’s shell. Not Sacajawea’s frame. A polar ice sheet is not a 420 law.
ExactnessApproximate
Form420
Unitkm
Strengthhard
When2000-04-17