Mottled dunes near Curiosity’s landing site

A piece of Mars: Mottled dunes hint at different wind gusts, in this field of dunes located near the landing site for the next rover to go to Mars (named Curiosity). The bluish areas are most likely the more recently active patches — think of wind gusts suddenly causing sand to hop along the ground, scouring off dust (like a brillo pad) and revealing the true colors of the dunes. The small scratches on the dunes (the ones that make the dunes look like troll doll hair) are actually sand ripples, and they have been observed to move over time. (HiRISE ESP_026568_1750)