Mars Polar Ice Caps

Mars has polar caps made of water ice and seasonal carbon-dioxide frost. Their appearance changes with the seasons. The polar regions are important because volatile materials there respond to the Martian seasons and preserve clues about climate history.

Mars is a world where apparently simple questions often lead to larger scientific problems. Researchers combine spacecraft images, measurements from orbit, surface observations and laboratory analysis of Martian material to build explanations that can be tested. As with all planetary science, the strongest conclusions come from multiple observations that agree with one another.

The value of studying mars polar ice caps is not limited to one isolated fact. Mars is a rocky planet with a long geological history, a thin atmosphere and evidence that its environment changed substantially over time. Individual observations become more useful when they are placed into that larger planetary context.