HiPOD: Saturday, 31 August 2019
Raindrops of Sand in Copernicus Crater

Raindrops of Sand in Copernicus Crater
The dark features here look like raindrops, but are actually sand dunes. This spot was targeted by CRISM because the dunes are rich in the mineral olivine.

Olivine-rich dunes are very rare on Earth, as olivine rapidly weathers to clays in a wet environment. There is also olivine-rich bedrock in the central peaks of Copernicus Crater on the Moon.

There is only a handful of very important scientists, like Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) who have craters named after them on both Mars and the Moon.

ID: ESP_031221_1315
date: 25 March 2013
altitude: 253 km

https://uahirise.org/hipod/ESP_031221_1315
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
#Mars #science #NASA

Black & white is less than 5 km across; enhanced color is less than 1 km. For full observation details, visit the ID link.