This image was suggested by Vishal Bhalerao, a mechanical engineering student, from the K.K. Wagh Institute of Engineering Education in Maharashtra, India.

The image captures a small crater in the southern hemisphere near the south pole.

Much of the ground surface is covered by polygonal fractures, common in high-latitude areas. This suggests there is (or was) ice just below the surface at this location. There are also yardangs (long landforms sculpted by the wind) and dunes within the crater suggesting aeolian activity. Aeolian (wind-driven) processes are currently very active on the surface of Mars.

The dark and light patches at the top of the image are probably related to sublimation of carbon dioxide ice at this location.

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., 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 and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona. The image data were processed using the U.S. Geological Survey’s ISIS3 software.