                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 March 3

                     Flying over the North Pole of Mars
     Video Credit: ESA, Mars Express, VMC; Processing & License: Simeon
                                   Schmauß

   Explanation: If you could fly over the North Pole of Mars, what would
   you see?  Images from ESA’s Mars Express mission in 2019 were compiled
   into the featured video which shows just such a trip. First you see
   below you a landscape tinted orange by rusted iron in the fine soil,
   with some land appearing darker due to exposed rock. Soon the northern
   polar cap comes into view, mostly white because of its reflective
   frozen water. Surrounding the polar cap is the North Polar Basin, a
   layered depression covered with dust and sand. The frames in the
   featured video were captured during northern Martian Spring when the
   carbon-dioxide ice is evaporating, leaving the underlying water-ice in
   the cap. Mars Express continues to study the Martian surface and look
   for clues about the Red Planet's ancient climate and potential for
   life.

                        Tomorrow's picture: Space Eye
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

