--- title: Mars: Photos of Unique Sand Dunes by the Curiosity Rover description: Photos taken by the Curiosity Rover have revealed a type of sand dune unique to Mars. canonical: https://time.com/4391522/curiosity-rover-reveals-special-mars-sand-dunes-not-seen-on-earth/ author: Marisa Gertz article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-01T17:32:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:00:57.016Z article:section: Science og:title: Curiosity Rover Reveals Special Mars Sand Dunes Not Seen on Earth og:description: The "wind-drag ripples" are unique og:url: https://time.com/4391522/curiosity-rover-reveals-special-mars-sand-dunes-not-seen-on-earth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt721812632a6c57d1/69889a5f2dce011e1b9e9b2c/mars-dunes-ripples.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: mars-dunes-ripples og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Curiosity Rover Reveals Special Mars Sand Dunes Not Seen on Earth twitter:description: The "wind-drag ripples" are unique twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt721812632a6c57d1/69889a5f2dce011e1b9e9b2c/mars-dunes-ripples.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Curiosity Rover Reveals Special Mars Sand Dunes Not Seen on Earth by [Marisa Gertz](https://time.com/author/marisa-gertz/) ## Marisa Gertz Jul 1, 2016 5:32 PM UTC  Two sizes of ripples are evident in this view of a top of a Martian sand dune, from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from Dec. 13, 2015. Two sizes of ripples are evident in this view of a top of a Martian sand dune, from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from Dec. 13, 2015.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS by [Marisa Gertz](https://time.com/author/marisa-gertz/) ## Marisa Gertz Jul 1, 2016 5:32 PM UTC Observations made by NASA’s [Curiosity Mars rover](http://time.com/3810701/from-mars-with-curiosity-how-we-get-pictures-from-the-red-planet/) of active sand dunes have revealed clues about the [history of Mars’ atmosphere](http://science.time.com/2013/07/23/revealed-how-mars-lost-its-atmosphere/), and special “wind-drag ripples” in the sand that are not seen on Earth. “Earth and Mars both have big sand dunes and small sand ripples, but on Mars, there’s something in between that we don’t have on Earth,” says [Mathieu Lapotre](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6551), the lead author of a report on the [unique ripples](http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA20755) published on July 1 in _Science._ This is the first truly detailed study of active sand dunes anywhere but Earth. These “wind-drag ripples,” as the authors of the report have named them, change in size depending on the density of the medium moving the grains. That medium, in this case, is Mars’ atmosphere. By studying wind-drag ripples preserved in Martian sandstone, scientists have found evidence that the planet lost most of its atmosphere early in its history. 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