Cratered Dune Forms

One of the scientific goals for taking this observation is to create a stereo pair with another HiRISE image. From stereo pairs, which are pictures of the same area but at different angles, HiRISE creates 3-D or anaglyph pictures.

Known since at least 2003, this is a wonderful case of aeolian sandstone that (a) preserves its original sand dune bedform shapes and (b) lies unconformably over a previously-eroded surface of layered sedimentary rock.

This caption is based on the original science rationale.

HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's 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. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft.

Originally released March 28, 2012