http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/11/martian_landscapes.html

Since 2006, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been orbiting Mars, currently circling approximately 300 km (187 mi) above the Martian surface. On board the MRO is HiRISE, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera, which has been photographing the planet for several years now at resolutions as fine as mere inches per pixel. Collected here is a group of images from HiRISE over the past few years, in either false color or grayscale, showing intricate details of landscapes both familiar and alien, from the surface of our neighboring planet, Mars. I invite you to take your time looking through these, imagining the settings - very cold, dry and distant, yet real. (35 photos total)

Intersecting swirling trails left by the earlier passage of dust devils across sand dunes, as they lifted lighter reddish-pink dust and exposed the darker material below. Also visible are darker slope streaks along dune edges, formed by a process which is still under investigation. More, or see location on Google Mars. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

2 An eroded crater in a larger plain with a scalloped appearance near Pavonis Mons. More, or see location on Google Mars. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona) #

3 Part of the Abalos Undae dune field. The sands appear blueish because of their basaltic composition, while the lighter areas are probably covered in dust. More, or see location on Google Mars. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona) #

4 A portion of the Martian South Polar Cap, showing stratified layers exposed by a long process of sublimation. More information here. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona) #

5 Exposure of Layers and Minerals in Candor Chasma. This image shows a cliff along a light-toned layered deposit in Valles Marineris. Erosion by wind has carved V-shaped patterns along the edges of many of the layers. More, or see location on Google Mars. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona) #