This image shows sand in the Martian terrain.
Click on image for full size
Image from: JPL/NASA
Martian Sand
Sand grains on Earth are usually made of quartz. Sand grains of Mars seem to come from basalt. They seem to be particles which are cemented together, rather than round crystal fragments such as sand grains on Earth.
Sand is an important agent of erosion, although another important weathering mechanism on Mars is Acid Fog.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Enjoy your love of minerals and fossils through jewelry! We have beautiful Nature's Own
jewelry in our
online store, including earrings, necklaces, and pendants!
You might also be interested in:
This special issue of The Earth Scientist, which focuses on Earth System science, was sponsored by The Pennsylvania State University TESSE Team. The issue features the work of middle and high school teachers, and graduate and undergraduate students who have participated in the TESSE program from 2006 - 2009.
...more
Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock that is very dark in color. It is the most common type of rock in the Earth's crust and it makes up most of the ocean floor. It is made of many dark colored minerals
...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
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 the results returned from Mars
...more
