What's it like to be on Venus or Pluto? Sand dunes give some clues

For dunes to even exist, there are a pair of "Goldilocks" criteria that must be satisfied. First is a supply of erodible but durable grains.

What is it like to be on the surface of Mars or Venus? Or even further afield, such as on Pluto, or Saturn’s moon Titan?

This curiosity has driven advances in space exploration since Sputnik 1 was launched 65 years ago. But we’re only beginning to scratch the surface of what is knowable about other planetary bodies in the Solar System.

Our new study, published today in Nature Astronomy, shows how some unlikely candidates – namely sand dunes – can provide insight into what weather and conditions you might experience if you were standing on a