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Postcards From Mars



a picture of a dust storm
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A portion of the inner wall of the 60-mile Columbus Crater, located in the southern hemisphere

identified hydrated minerals in the layers, providing more evidence of past water
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The landscape within a crater

"shoreline" of a hypothesized ancient ocean
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picture of Phobos, the larger of Mars's two moons
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On Mars, there is more than one type of ice

frozen carbon dioxide -- which shapes and reshapes the Martian landscape

From left

blocks of icy debris

swirling dust devils

surface erodes in scalloped ridges

sand dunes emerge

ice warms into gas and expands

plumes and material is carried downwind
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In the polar regions

The bright white areas are frost and the swirling patterns have been carved by erosion
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This ridge, located in the far north of Mars, may have been created by an ancient glacier

An impact crater is located in the center
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high-resolution camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Orbiter revealed complex textures

shaping the Martian landscape today