Some researchers thought the dust - covered glaciers might be mostly made of mud, or of carbon dioxide ice. (scientificamerican.com)
Finally, MARCI will also monitor the seasonal growth and retreat of the water ice and carbon dioxide ice in the polar regions, and its color spectra will be used to obtain compositional information about iron - bearing materials on the planet. (msss.com)
Over its 10 - year life span, the spacecraft observed the Martian surface and atmosphere repeatedly, exposing details — like the shrinking carbon dioxide ice cap on the south pole — that would have been lost to onetime measurements. (discovermagazine.com)