The European Space Agency has released striking new images from the Mars Express orbiter showing sand dunes inside Kaiser Crater that appear to be made of metal due to sunlight reflecting off bright icy deposits on their slopes.
Located in Mars' southern hemisphere, the 207-kilometre-wide crater contains crescent-shaped barchan dunes, some reaching 100 meters in height, stretching across the crater floor in dark, wave-like formations.
ESA said Kaiser Crater is of major scientific interest after previous observations uncovered clay-rich rocks, pointing to the presence of ancient water on Mars.
The crater also features gullies and channels that may have been formed by past water activity or landslides, while the planet's dry climate has preserved these remarkable geological features for billions of years.
The European Space Agency's Mars Express has spotted a swath of metallic-looking waves filling Mars's large Kaiser Crater—an ancient and otherworldly dune field sculpted by wind.#Mars #planet #alien #space #science #ancient #exoplanet #nature #universe pic.twitter.com/DjFxh8NOVU
— 𝕾 𝕽𝖆𝖏𝖊𝖘𝖍 𝕶𝖚𝖒𝖆𝖗 (@TeesriAankh_YT) July 16, 2026
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