Mars — Topography of frozen carbon dioxide deposits at the southern polar ice cap
Mars — Topography of Frozen Carbon Dioxide Deposits at the Southern Polar Ice Cap captures the striking, textured landscape sculpted by seasonal and permanent frost at the edge of Mars’s south pole. Photographed by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on 14 July 2022, this image reveals the layered and contoured terrain where carbon dioxide ice — also known as dry ice — collects, sublimates, and reshapes the polar surface. The intricate patterns and unusual shapes are created as carbon dioxide cycles annually between the atmosphere and polar cap, with the summer sun carving out pits, ridges and “Swiss cheese” formations by turning the ice directly into gas.
Mars’s southern polar cap is unique in the solar system: the residual cap is composed almost entirely of carbon dioxide ice sitting atop a deeper layer of water ice. Layers, some just a few metres thick, contain a climate archive that records changes in Martian atmosphere, tilt, and temperature across millennia. Changes in sunlight and seasons repeatedly erode and redeposit the carbon dioxide, altering landscape features year by year. The complex interplay between sunlight, atmospheric pressure, and sublimation creates an array of pits and terraces, providing planetary scientists with valuable clues about Mars’s climate past and present.
This print was created from original, high-resolution HiRISE sensor data sourced from the mission archive, processed carefully to preserve the fine structure and delicate tonal shifts of the polar terrain.
HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, has delivered unprecedented views of Mars since 2006, enabling research into surface processes, seasonal change, water and carbon dioxide cycles, and the search for climate records locked in the polar layers.
Each open edition work is produced using the giclée process on 250gsm archival matte paper, offering exceptional clarity, fine surface texture, and enduring quality — capturing the ethereal and ever-changing nature of Mars’s polar landscapes.
Image: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Radiance Series
Radiance is our series devoted to image-born works — pictures made by light itself. Drawn from observatory archives and scientific instruments, these pieces begin as high-fidelity sensor images: Mars at meter-scale detail from HiRISE, deep-sky vistas from JWST and ESO/ESA observatories, wide-area surveys, and even terrestrial science—oceanic, geological and biological imagery—where structure and texture emerge directly from the data.
The craft is exacting. We source the highest-resolution originals, reconstruct large fields (for example, stitching complex Mars terrains), and make restrained, evidence-minded adjustments to reveal tone, micro-contrast and fine structure without losing the character of the capture. Each image is then prepared for print at generous sizes—profiled, proofed and tuned with our specialist UK printers—so dune morphologies, dust lanes, cloud bands, crystalline patterns and microscopic architectures resolve with quiet clarity.
Printed on museum-grade papers, Radiance presents planetary, earthly and microscopic worlds with archival discipline and a sense of presence you can stand in front of — photographs in the deepest sense: light recorded, honoured, and given room to breathe.
Printing & Materials
Our Radiance series is produced in collaboration with specialist fine-art printing partners using museum-grade 250 gsm archival giclée paper.
Each print is made to order with exceptional precision and colour accuracy, using pigment-based inks for long-term stability and rich tonal depth.
Prints are carefully rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in rigid cardboard tubes to ensure they arrive in perfect condition, ready for framing.
All materials and processes are chosen for their longevity, texture, and fidelity to the original artwork, reflecting our commitment to quality and craft.