Dry Ice Drives Dramatic Changes on Mars

(Before It's News)

Mars may not be tectonically active but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing happening on the Red Planet’s surface. This video from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory shows the dramatic seasonal changes that take place in Mars’ polar regions when the frozen carbon dioxide — called “dry ice”  – coating the basalt sand dunes begins to thaw and cracks, releasing jets of sublimating CO2 gas that carry dark material upwards and outwards, staining the frozen surface of the dunes. Imagine what it would be like to be standing nearby when these jets erupt!
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© Jason Major for Universe Today, 2013. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: CO2, HiRISE, ice, Mars, polar, Science, seasonal processes, spring

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