You had me at sublimation

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The image shows an area of sand dunes on Mars in the springtime, when carbon dioxide frost is sublimating into the air.

According to NASA, the pattern of dark spots is due to the fact that the sublimation process is not uniform.

Captured by the HiRISE camera on board the spacecraft, this image has been color-enhanced to draw out some of these features.

This orbiter is a pretty amazing little spacecraft, as it’s been flying around Mars since March 2006 and operating for nearly two decades.

NASA is looking into commercial options for a replacement, as the spacecraft performs both essential observation functions and serves as a communications relay.

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