The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently shared an image of Mars in which the surface of the Red Planet is visible. Titled ‘Blue Dunes of Red Planet’, the picture combines shots captured between December 2002 and November 2004.These shots were captured by the Thermal Emission Imaging System instrument on the Odyssey orbiter which has sent back more than 1 million images since it began circling Mars.
“A sea of dark dunes, sculpted by the wind into long lines, surrounds Mars’ northern polar cap and covers an area as big as Texas. Thus, the dark, sun-warmed dunes glow with a golden color.
“In this false-color image, areas with cooler temperatures are recorded in bluer tints, while warmer features are depicted in yellows and oranges. Thus, the dark, sun-warmed dunes glow with a golden color. This image covers an area 19 miles (30 kilometers) wide,” NASA said.
Launched on April 7, 2001, NASA’s Mars Odyssey was sent to the Red Planet to map its composition.
The set of images, clicked on the Red Planet at 80.3 degrees north latitude, 172.1 degrees east longitude, were released to mark the 20th anniversary of Odyssey, the longest-working Mars spacecraft in history.
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