NASA spots 2km tall whirlwind on Mars

Mars isn’t known for its great weather. Permanent sub-zero temperatures (although, interestingly, the highest temperature ever recorded on Mars is still higher than the highest recorded in Scotland), a sparse atmosphere of carbon dioxide and dust, dim Sun and weak gravity are all turn offs for potential Martian tourists. Add to the list impossibly tall whirlwinds. This particular dust devil was spotted by the Perseverance rover as it very slowly made its way across the Martian horizon, with NASA releasing the timelapse video taken at four seconds per frame (no, that’s not a typo). Martian dust devils have been spotted regularly since the start of Martian exploration, beginning with NASA’s Viking probes in the 1980s. Thanks to the low gravity and thin atmosphere, these dust devils can grow much larger than on Earth. The largest recorded twister was 8km tall and wide. Despite the size, they are mostly harmless – while the circulating dust can potentially damage the delicate scientific instruments of Martian rovers, most dust devils just end up giving the solar panels a good clean.