Another shot of the sand dunes on Mars Credit: NASA

NASA has unveiled spectacular photographs of majestic sand dunes on planet Mars.

It is the first chance scientists have had to examine active sand formations on any planet other than Earth.

The Curiosity Mars rover, NASA's car-sized reconnaissance robot, has been based on Mars' surface for more than three years now, and successfully captured the stunning images.

The photographs depict the enormous, segmented Namib dune which stands at a whopping 13 - 17 feet tall.

Expand Close Another shot of the sand dunes on Mars Credit: NASA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Another shot of the sand dunes on Mars Credit: NASA

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"One of the first things they want to explore is the grain size and morphology of different parts of the slipface," Lauren Edgar, a member of the Curiosity team and a USGS Astrogeology Science Centre research geologist said.

Expand Close Downwind of the Namib sand dune Credit: NASA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Downwind of the Namib sand dune Credit: NASA

The ripples on the dunes change over time due to the prevailing winds on Mars.

After short period of time, so much sand builds up that the sand at the bottom can’t sustain the weight of the sand on top, and a tiny avalanche occurs

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The Namib sand dune is just one of many dunes located in the Bagnold Dunes field on the northwestern side of Mars.

It is situated very near to where Curiosity first touched down back in 2012.

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