ESA Orbiter Reveals 100-Meter Mars Dunes in 207-Km Kaiser Crater as Frost Creates Metallic Sheen
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Jul 17
ESA Orbiter Reveals 100-Meter Mars Dunes in 207-Km Kaiser Crater as Frost Creates Metallic Sheen
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Jul 17
Summary
New Mars Express images show dark dune fields in Kaiser Crater appearing like frozen metal, with some ridges stretching for kilometers and rising more than 100 meters above the crater floor.
Carbon-dioxide frost coating basaltic sand during Martian winter — combined with strong light-dark contrast — gives the dunes their chrome-like look rather than any actual metallic surface.
Kaiser Crater, a 207-kilometer-wide impact basin in Mars' southern highlands, acts as a sand trap; visible gaps between ridges suggest the dune field is being shaped by a relatively limited sand supply.
The formation also offers clues to Mars' past: despite an atmosphere about 100 times thinner than Earth's today, the dunes indicate winds strong enough to sculpt major landscapes, possibly when the atmosphere was thicker billions of years ago.
The release adds to Mars Express's recent run of surface observations after it captured 30 dust devils in Mamers Valles last month and highlighted other signs of Mars' active geological history this year.