Mars’ Frozen Dunes: NASA Finds Ice-Covered Sand Shaped Like Kidney Beans

These Martian dunes in Mars' northern hemisphere were captured from above by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter using its High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on Sept. 8, 2022. Scientists use such images to track the amount of frost that settles on the landforms and then disappears as the weather warms in spring. Martian dunes migrate just like dunes on Earth, with wind blowing away sand on one side of the dune and building up on another. Recent research has shown that winter frost stops the movement of sand grains, locking the dunes in place until the spring thaw. The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE, which 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. Photo Source - NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s spacecraft has found something unusual on Mars- sand dunes frozen in place, shaped like kidney beans. They aren’t moving like dunes on Earth because they’re covered in a layer of ice. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took these photos in September 2022. What makes this discovery special is the type of ice covering these dunes. It’s not just water ice like we have on Earth, it’s also dry ice which is frozen carbon dioxide. During Mars’ nights, temperatures drop as low as -123 degrees Celsius, cold enough to freeze water and carbon dioxide. These frozen dunes are like nature’s time … Continue reading Mars’ Frozen Dunes: NASA Finds Ice-Covered Sand Shaped Like Kidney Beans