Happy Face
Date: 30 Dec 2010

Some areas on Mars have many pits and therefore hold the nickname "Swiss cheese terrain." This particular image of Swiss cheese terrain reveals a surface feature that looks like a happy face. This image was taken to help monitor change over time of the carbon dioxide cap on (or near) the south pole of Mars.


This is an enhanced-color view generated from images acquired by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).


Images from the HiRISE instrument and additional information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter are available online at: http://HiRISE.lpl.arizona.edu and http://www.nasa.gov/mro.


JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.


Last Update: 8 Jun 2011 (AMB)

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona