Sands of Time
Submitted by Laura Mehall
There’s nothing quite like leaving your footprints in untouched sand. Looking at this mosaic, can’t you just feel the sand between your toes? the wind in your hair? This mosaic exemplifies the many effects of Martian winds on the surface. In the foreground, there are the rough, rubbly textures of the rock. In the distance, are the smooth, silky features of the sand dunes. Look closely and you can see how the topography changes the overall morphology of the dunes. Inside the crater, named Woodstock Crater, the dunes are much more linear, while outside of the crater they are more sinuous. This was taken in the early morning hours on Mars, making the lighting even more dramatic, and giving the science team a better view of some of the details on the surface. The good news is, that you don’t have to go all the way to Mars to see these wind effects, we can see them right here on Earth.
Mastcam-Z left eye enhanced color mosaic from sol 1462 (March 31, 2025) at 110-mm focal length. Feature image above shown at 25% full size; click this link to download full-resolution view.
Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.
March 31, 2025