Fogs of clouds and dust covered parts of southern Mars during last Martian winter . Giant volcanoes , such as Ascraeus Mons , the central circular feature near the top of the image , were surrounded by large water clouds . Slightly southwest, Pavonis Mons and Arisa Mons also peeked above their water clouds. The rough terrain below center is Labyrinthus Noctis , a maze of deep troughs running over 200 kilometers long. Directly south, a large white dust storm fogs Syria Planum , a large plateau . This image mosaic was taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft currently orbiting Mars . Soon, five more Earth-launched spacecraft should arrive at the Red Planet , named for the Roman god of war .
2 June 2003
The Fogs of Mars
