Martian dunes at the end of winter - March: Late Winter view of Dunes: Detail...

Martian dunes at the end of winter - March: Late Winter view of Dunes: Detail on dunes in the southern hemisphere of Mars. With the end of winter, the Sun melts the carbon dioxide ice present all winter. Image obtained by the HIRISE camera of the Mars Reconnaissance probe orbiter on March 21, 2016. HIRISE is a 50 cm telescope that observes visible and near infrared. Sand dunes cover much of this terrain, which has large boulders lying on flat areas between the dunes. It is now late winter here in the Southern hemisphere, and these dunes are just getting enough sunlight to start defrosting their seasonal cover of carbon dioxide. Spots form where pressurized carbon dioxide gas escapes to the surface