‘Once in a blue dune’: NASA shares striking image of Martian crater

NASA has shared a stunning image of a field of finely-marked turquoise sand dunes smeared across the floor of a Martian crater.

The eye-catching snap, captured by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows an accumulation of ‘barchan’ (or crescent-shaped) sand dunes on the Lyot Crater –a large crater in the Vastitas Borealis region of the Red Planet.

Just to the south of the group of barchan dunes lies a large dune with a stranger and more complex structure, depicted in a striking blue shade in the enhanced color image. According to NASA, this formation is made of finer material and may have “a different composition than the surrounding” dunes.

The blue patch appears marked and dimpled in more refined ridges than the wider area nearby.

Mars is currently under the grip of a massive dust storm that has turned the landscape blood red. The colossal storm has now encircled the entire planet.

READ MORE: Lost Opportunity?: NASA rover threatened by intense Martian dust storm

Earlier this month, NASA’s Opportunity rover was knocked offline due to lack of solar power as a result of the massive storm. The Curiosity Rover is still functioning on the opposite side of the planet but is facing deteriorating visibility.

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