A recent Martian dust devil has been captured by NASA’s Perseverance rover, showcasing the swirling columns of air and dust that are common on the Red Planet. The image was taken from about 1 kilometer away using the rover’s navigation camera and shows a larger dust devil with a smaller one in its path.
The scene was recorded during an imaging experiment conducted by Perseverance’s science team to better understand the forces at play in the Martian atmosphere. Dust devils on Mars are formed by rising and rotating columns of warm air, which can pick up speed and turn into mini-tornadoes.
According to Mark Lemmon, a Perseverance scientist, dust devils can be “fiendish” and wander the surface of Mars, picking up dust as they go. When two dust devils collide, one can consume the other or merge with the stronger one. The smaller dust devil in the image is estimated to be around 5 meters wide.
Perseverance has imaged whirlwinds on many occasions since landing in 2021, including a swarm of dust devils that danced across the floor of Jezero Crater in September 2021. The rover’s SuperCam microphone even recorded the first sounds of a Martian dust devil.
While capturing dust devil images is unpredictable, Perseverance regularly monitors for them, using data from previous observations to try to catch additional whirlwinds. Scientists estimate that dust devils on Mars last around 10 minutes.
The Perseverance rover is part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program and aims to characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, as well as search for signs of ancient microbial life. The mission also marks a key step in preparing for human exploration of Mars.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/mars-2020-perseverance/perseverance-rover/perseverance-rover-witnesses-one-martian-dust-devil-eating-another