What kind of wind?
Mars presently has an atmosphere that is less than 1% of Earth’s atmospheric density at sea level. It is composed almost entirely of carbon dioxide, although nitrogen and argon make up about 3%, with trace elements less than 1/10%. The temperatures on Mars vary from a maximum of 20 C (68 F) and a minimum of -140 C (-220 F). The atmosphere is so thin that blowing winds exert almost no pressure on robotic rovers that are traversing the surface. So how could they gather piles of sand and dust into dunes that can reach 800 meters high? The consensus opinion among planetary scientists explains wind through atmospheric convection and gas kinetics. Since most theories of geophysical processes on other planets are based on the idea that what happens on our planet should be used as the model for what happens elsewhere, there is no other way for wind to act in the minds of investigators studying other planets and moons. Researchers are constrained by their presumptions, so dunes on Mars “must be
