Polar science results from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Multiwavelength, multiyear insights

Abstract

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), with its arrival in 2006 and nearly continuous operation since, has provided data for the study of martian polar processes spanning nine Mars years. Mars' polar deposits have long been thought to preserve records of past climates, potentially readable like terrestrial ice cores. However, unraveling millions of years of history in the ice depends on understanding Mars' current and recent-past climate, including the interactions of atmospheric and surface processes. MRO has allowed for revolutionary discoveries, long-term monitoring of ongoing processes, and multiple complementary datasets to address the question of how the polar ice deposits reflect climatological changes. In part, MRO has been able to do this from its variety of instrumentation simultaneously observing interannual changes in geomorphology of the surface in up to ∼25 cm/pixel detail, repeatable processes and changes in the atmosphere, and surface composition, as well as investigating signs of past changes recorded in the icy polar layered deposits. In this paper, we summarize the contribution of MRO to our current understanding of Mars polar science, and in particular how MRO's long-duration mission has improved our understanding of the fundamental volatile cycles on Mars.