Photo from NASA Mars orbiter shows wind's handiwork

January 26, 2012
Photo from NASA Mars Orbiter shows wind's handiwork

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This enhanced-color image shows sand dunes trapped in an impact crater in Noachis Terra, Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

(PhysOrg.com) -- Some images of stark Martian landscapes provide visual appeal beyond their science value, including a recent scene of wind-sculpted features from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

The scene shows dunes and of various shapes and sizes inside an impact crater in the Noachis Terra region of southern Mars. Patterns of dune erosion and deposition provide insight into the sedimentary history of the area.

The has been examining Mars with six science instruments since 2006. Now in an extended mission, the orbiter continues to provide insights about the planet's ancient environments and about how processes such as wind, and seasonal frosts are continuing to affect the Martian surface today. This mission has returned more data about Mars than all other orbital and surface missions combined.

More than 20,600 images taken by HiRISE are available for viewing on the instrument team's website: http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu . Each observation by this telescopic camera covers several square miles, or square kilometers, and can reveal features as small as a desk.

HiRISE is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson. The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.

More information: For more information about the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, see http://www.nasa.gov/mro .

Provided by JPL/NASA (news : web)

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Twin
Jan 26, 2012

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Surely we all see the houses on the right side!!

Seriously tho, shouldn't these be more like dust dunes than sand dunes given the tenuous atmosphere?
barakn
Jan 27, 2012

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Perhaps you've forgotten about the reduced gravity or super-fast wind speeds...
Twin
Jan 27, 2012

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Yep. Ty.
Rank 5 /5 (6 votes)
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high resolution imaging science experiment, mars reconnaissance orbiter, sand ripples, meteorite impacts, martian surface, imaging science, mars
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