NASA has released a stunning image from Mars that appears to show blue dunes on the otherwise red planet.
The photo is a false-colored image, released last week as part of the 20th anniversaryof the Odyssey orbiter.
The colors usedin the image indicate temperature; the blue highlights areas in the image that are cooler in temperature, while the shades of yellow and orange indicate warmer temperatures.
It was composed of several images originally captured between 2002 and 2004 by the Mars Odyssey orbiter’s infrared camera.
NASA says the dunes in the picture were created by winds on Mars and surround the planet’s northern polar cap, an area about the size of Texas.
Odyssey was launched on April 7, 2001 from Cape Canaveral and entered Mars’ gravity on October 24, 2001. It is still orbiting around Mars to this day, collecting scientific data.
