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Mars’ northern-most sand dunes are beginning to emerge from their
winter cover of seasonal carbon dioxide (dry) ice. Dark, bare
south-facing slopes are soaking up the warmth of the sun.
The steep lee sides of the dunes are also ice-free along the crest,
allowing sand to slide down the dune. Dark splotches are places where
ice cracked earlier in spring, releasing sand. Soon the dunes will be
completely bare and all signs of spring activity will be gone.
This image was acquired by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 16, 2014. The University of Arizona,
Tucson, operates the HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace
& Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA
Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
Source 1- http://static.uahirise.org/images/wallpaper/2880/ESP_035033_2635.jpg
Source 2- http://hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu/PDS/EXTRAS/RDR/ESP/ORB_035000_035099/ESP_035033_2635/ESP_035033_2635_RED.browse.jpg
