Martian Dunes in Meridiani Planum | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Martian Dunes in Meridiani Planum | Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Obiter (MRO) monitors dune fields across Mars to track how they are changing. The mobile sand also cleans dust off of the bedrock in inter-dune areas, providing good views of the bedrock structures and colors.

Here we see subtle color differences between layers, and a dense network of fractures. The dunes, in contrast, are uniformly dark and relatively blue in enhanced color (really grey but less red than the bedrock, so they appear blue here. Image is less than 1 km across and is 272 km above the surface.)

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen

Image Date: January 15, 2022 

Release Date: May 17, 2022

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