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Icy New Impact

This crater, formed in 2008, exposes shallow, clean ice that is not uncommon in the middle-to-high latitudes on Mars.

April 01, 2012

This crater, formed in 2008, exposes shallow, clean ice that is not uncommon in the middle-to-high latitudes on Mars. Sublimation, the process that occurs when a solid changes into a gas without an intermediary liquid stage, creates an ice-free layer on the surface that may be several feet deep, hiding the ice underneath until exposed by an impact.

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NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

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