Image 2-18
Martian Frost

NASA's Viking lander snapped this image of the Martian surface showing a light layer of frost on the ground. The frost is visible as a layer of white material covering the ground in this image. Martian frost is composed of frozen water and carbon dioxide. The delicate frost forms at night but disappears quickly when the rises. Frost has been seen Mars before by other missions, including the recent Phoenix lander mission.