The Red Planet has a purple side

The image shows Thyles Rupes, an icy crag with cliffs higher than 1 km, in the south polar region of Mars. The feature, which means "cliff" in Latin, is pink, purple, and red, and is part of a region with a blueberry-purple hue. The image reveals that the region has a mix of dust, frost, and ice, contributing to its colorful appearance. The image also shows other features like Ultima Lingula, a plateau-like structure, and Burroughs crater. The region's overall color comes from a combination of dust and frost, and the image shows how tall Thyles Rupes is, more than 1 km high. The image is part of a larger study of Mars' surface, with orbiters like Mars Express and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter providing images over the last couple of decades.

• Thyles Rupes is an icy crag with cliffs higher than 1 km.
• It is part of the south polar region and shows a mix of dust, frost, and ice.
• The region's overall color comes from a combination of dust and frost.
• The image is part of a larger study of Mars' surface, with orbiters like Mars Express and NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter providing images over the last couple of decades.

The image highlights that the region has a mix of different materials with different sources. Volcanoes created and spread the darker material, which is rich in minerals like olivine and pyroxene. The pale bluish areas, like those in the crater, are covered in frozen carbon dioxide. Near the south pole, this material persists even in springtime, when the image was captured. The main cap never melts, but a seasonal CO2 frost cap expands and contracts with the seasons. The region's overall blueberry-purple hue comes from a combination of dust and frost. The image also shows that the region changes throughout the day, with different combinations of dust, light, frost, and ice creating the purplish scene.

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