PIA04772: North Polar Dunes
This image from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor shows a slope on a sand dune, the slipface, indicates the general direction that wind has been transporting sediment.
 Target Name:  Mars
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) 
 Spacecraft:  Mars Global Surveyor Orbiter
 Instrument:  Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) 
 Product Size:  838 x 1257 pixels (w x h) 
 Produced By:  Malin Space Science Systems 
 Producer ID:  MOC2-499b  
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA04772.tif (1.055 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA04772.jpg (159.5 kB)  

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

MGS MOC Release No. MOC2-499b, 30 September 2003

The steepest slope on a sand dune, the slipface, indicates the general direction that wind has been transporting sediment. This Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) image shows several dark sand dunes in the north polar region. Sand transport in this case is from the lower left (southwest) toward the upper right (northeast). The picture is located near 76.5°N, 257.4°W, and covers an area 3 km (1.9 mi) across. Sunlight illuminates the scene from the lower left.

Image Credit:
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

Image Addition Date:
2003-09-30