Mars - Southern Polar Ice Cap

The Mars - Southern Polar Ice Cap print from the Radiance Series captures the textured landscape sculpted by seasonal and permanent frost at the edge of Mars’s south pole.

Photographed by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on 14 July 2022, the image reveals the layered and contoured terrain where carbon dioxide ice - or dry ice - accumulates, sublimates, and reshapes the surface. Intricate ridges, pits, and “Swiss cheese” formations emerge as carbon dioxide cycles between atmosphere and ground, each Martian year redrawing the polar landscape.

The southern polar cap is unique within the solar system. Its residual layer consists almost entirely of carbon dioxide ice resting atop a thicker bed of water ice. The fine stratification, in some places only metres deep, holds a record of atmospheric and climatic change stretching back millennia. Seasonal sunlight and pressure shifts repeatedly erode and redeposit frozen carbon dioxide, creating an ever-changing terrain of terraces and hollows that provide valuable insights into Mars’s climate and orbital history.

This print was created from original, high-resolution HiRISE data obtained from the mission archive and processed to preserve the subtle tonal variations and delicate surface detail of the polar deposits.

HiRISE - the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment - has delivered unprecedented imagery of Mars since 2006, advancing research into surface evolution, seasonal processes, and the cycles of water and carbon dioxide that define the planet’s modern climate.

The Radiance series presents planetary science as fine art - orbital imagery from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter processed from raw mission archive data into large-format prints.

Every image is captured by HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment - the most powerful camera ever sent to another planet. Operating since 2006 at an altitude of roughly 300 kilometres, HiRISE captures Mars at near-metre resolution, revealing surface processes, geological structures, and landforms at a scale and clarity previously impossible.

Each Radiance print is made from raw JP2 sensor data sourced directly from the HiRISE mission archive, processed to preserve authentic surface structure and tone while balancing scientific accuracy with visual clarity.

Image credits: NASA / JPL-Caltech / University of Arizona.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 70 × 50 cm · 28 × 20 in

XLarge · 100 × 70 cm · 40 × 28 in

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All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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