This is a picture of sand dunes seen by Mars Pathfinder.
Click on image for full size
Image from: NASA/JPL
Martian Duneforms
There are many portions of surface near the Mars Pathfinder landing site covered by sand dunes, as shown in this picture. These dunes consist of particles placed in motion by the mechanism of saltation.During the Rover's exploration of the Martian surface, it rolled over what scientists now call the "Mermaid Dune", covered with soils.
Analysis of the soils at Mermaid Dune, as well as study of other wind drifts seen near the landing site contributed to the overall understanding of the erosion occuring near the landing site.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes
issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist, full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science, as well as
books on science education!
You might also be interested in:
One of the objectives of the Mars Pathfinder mission was the examination of the composition of the soil and how it was laid down. As the Rover traversed the surface exploring the rocks of Mars, it also
...more
The goal of the Mars Pathfinder (MPF) mission was to analyze the rocks and soil of Mars. The MPF was actually 2 parts, a lander and a rover. The lander stayed right where it landed while the rover named
...more
The Mars Odyssey was launched April 7, 2001, from Florida. After a six-month, 285 million-mile journey, the Odyssey arrived at Mars on October 24, 2001. The Odyssey is in its aerobraking phase right now.
...more
The Mars 2005 mission is still in the planning stages. It is set to launch in the year 2005.
...more
The Mars Global Surveyor reached Mars in September of 1997. But it didn't make it into its final mapping orbit until February 1999. What took so long? Surveyor needed to reach a near-circular, low-altitude
...more
Mars Global Surveyor carries an instrument which measures the heights of things. This instrument is called an altimeter, or "altitude-meter". The graph to the left shows the results returned from Mars
...more
Mars Global Surveyor carries an instrument which measures the heights of things. This instrument is called an altimeter, or "altitude-meter". The picture to the left shows Mars Global Surveyor's measurement
...more
