NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity continues to cut southward across a plain marked by large sand ripples and a pavement of outcrop rock. The ripple in the center of the image shows a distinct pattern of banding, which the science team hopes to investigate more closely during the trek through this terrain. The banding and other features have inspired a hypothesis that Meridiani ripples are old features that are currently being eroded, and not transported, by wind. This navigation camera image was taken on Opportunity's sol 795, April 19, 2006.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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