Radar Mapping of Icy Layers Under Mars' North Pole

This composite graphic illustrates the use of the Shallow Radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for mapping underground ice-rich layers of the North Polar Layered Deposits existing on the North Pole of Mars.

The picture on top of the image-composite, is a radargram from the instrument, showing a cross-section of Mars' North Polar Cap, based on time lags of radio-wave echoes returning from different layers.
The penetrating radar reveals icy layered deposits overlying a basal unit in some areas.
The vertical dimension in the cross section is exaggerated one-hundred-fold compared with the horizontal dimension. The vertical scale bar is one kilometer (3281 feet).
The horizontal scale bar is 100 Km (62 miles).

The Shallow Radar instrument was provided by the Italian Space Agency. Its operations are led by the University of Rome and its data are analyzed by a joint U.S.-Italian science team. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, is the prime contractor for the project and built the spacecraft. The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson, and the instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.