Planet Mars: What is this? | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Planet Mars: What is this? | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

What are we looking at here? There are long linear ridges or elevated terrains covered by regular patterns of dark spots. Viewed at full resolution and in color we can see that the surface is covered by ripples and that a number of dark spots have bright halos around them.

Give up? These are sand dunes covered by carbon dioxide frost as seen in late winter when the carbon dioxide is starting to sublimate (change from solid to vapor). However, the way this sublimation happens is quite complex, leading to the spots, fans, streaks and so forth

Image cutout is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 250 km (156 mi). 
Image Acquisition date: Sept. 8, 2012
Local Mars time: 15:56
Latitude (centered): -61.730°
Longitude (East): 205.008°

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE. It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

For more information on MRO, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mro

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/mission/index.html

Video Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narrator: Tre Gibbs
Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen  

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Oct. 10, 2012

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