The sand dunes appear as asymmetric patches in the images taken on November 22, 2022, in the northern hemisphere of Mars by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) at the University of Arizona, USA.
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NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) equipped with a high-resolution camera has captured images of unusually perfect circular sand dunes on the surface of Mars.
The slopes of the sand dunes tilt towards the south, possibly due to the Martian winds blowing the sand in that direction, planetary scientists at the university stated in a statement. However, they are uncertain about what caused the sand dunes to have such nearly perfect circular shapes.
These images are part of a series captured by HiRISE to monitor the process of ice melting on Mars at 60 different locations as the planet’s northern hemisphere transitions out of winter. Similar to Earth, Mars also experiences a cycle of four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. While the circular sand dunes appear to be devoid of ice in this image, a previous photo showed them covered with ice.
HiRISE, attached to the MRO spacecraft, has been orbiting and surveying the sand dunes on Mars since 2006 to help scientists understand how they move and how various weather patterns shape them. High-resolution camera data reveals that the sand dunes are migrating from the equator towards the poles at a speed of up to 1 meter per year on Mars, or 687 days on Earth.
Researchers are also utilizing HiRISE to study features and deposits resembling glacial streams on Martian slopes, which scientists believe might have once contained substantial ice, although the origin of this ice layer remains a mystery, according to NASA.
The primary mission of MRO is to search for signs of water on Mars. Although this mission concluded 12 years ago on December 21, 2010, the spacecraft still serves as a communication bridge back to Earth for other Mars missions and continues to relay the remarkable images captured by HiRISE. Recently, the camera also discovered rock formations that resemble teddy bears.