Context image

Located in the center of this VIS image is a group of sand dunes. With enough wind and sand, sand dunes are formed. Dune morphology typically has a shallow slope on the side the wind is blowing from and a steep face on the other side. The darker part of the dunes in this image are the steep slopes. Wind blows sand particles up the shallow slope and then the particles 'fall' off the crest of the dune down the steep side. With time, the constant wind will move the crest of the dune forward. Depending on the amount of available sand, dunes can grow to large heights and sizes. In the case of this image, the dunes are moving toward the top of the image, which means up the surface slope. In cases like this, the dunes 'climb' up hills.

Orbit Number: 74955 Latitude: -50.2322 Longitude: 292.058 Instrument: VIS Captured: 2018-11-07 00:56

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.