Frosted Dunes Appear On Mars

Incredible new images show frosted dunes appearing on Mars from a photo captured on March 27 at 15:31 local Mars time. NASA tweeted the amazing photo with the caption: "What may look like frosting on a cake, is actually an image of defrosting sand dunes on Mars."

The image was taken by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera (HiRISE) on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA reports that the system is operated by the University of Arizona, Tucson and was crafted by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation in Boulder, Colorado.

Concerning the new stunning image, NASA informed readers that "Sand dunes cover much of this terrain, which has large boulders lying on flat areas between the dunes. It is late winter in the southern hemisphere of Mars, and these dunes are just getting enough sunlight to start defrosting their seasonal cover of carbon dioxide."

Earlier this year, HiRISE captured more stunning photos of Mars that had everyone talking. The images showed regions of the planet covered in mesmerizing blues and various colors creating dazzling patterns on the terrain that is much different than the usual red sand dunes most camera images have picked up before.

Now with the addition of the newly tweeted images of defrosting dunes across the southern hemisphere of Mars, NASA and the HiRISE camera are giving everyone a chance to view and learn about the foreign terrain that we know so little about.

With the capabilities of such tools as the HiRISE camera, are the next steps going to be investigating the possibility of organic life on the planet?