NASA spacecraft captures huge dust tornado on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded a dust vortex moving along the western edge of the Martian crater Jezero. This is stated in the report of the space agency.

The event was recorded on August 30, 2023. The data obtained indicate that the dust vortex was moving at a speed of about 12 mph (19 km/h). Its width was estimated at 60 meters and its height at 2 kilometers.

Dust tornadoes occur both on Mars and on Earth. But the unique thing about the vortices on the Red Planet is that they can grow much larger than those on our planet.

It is believed that tornadoes on Mars move and redistribute dust in the planet’s atmosphere. Therefore, studying this phenomenon allows us to better understand it.

By the way, it has recently become known that NASA’s Perseverance rover is setting new speed records on Mars thanks to the AutoNav automatic navigation system. The journey during which the rover overcame the Snowdrift Peak was indicative. Perseverance covered the distance of 759 meters in about a third of the time it would have taken other rovers.