A lucky encounter led the Perseverance rover to record the first-ever sound of a dust devil on Mars. The rover happened to have its microphone on (something that only happens Keep reading
Tag: Mars
Martian Glaciers
On Earth, glaciers slide on lubricating layers of water, leaving complex landscapes like fjords and drumlins in their wake. Mars — though once home to enormous ice masses — lacks Keep reading
Ingenuity’s Dust Cloud
Mars is quite dusty. It periodically gets swallowed by planet-spanning dust storms, but it’s also home to regular dust devils whose size can put Earth’s to shame. Exactly how so Keep reading
Martian Polar Troughs
Mars‘s northern pole is capped by a spiral-like pattern of deep troughs that are covered by carbon dioxide ice in winter but visible from orbit in summer. A new study Keep reading
Blue Dunes
This false-color image shows a Martian dune field near the northern polar cap. The image itself covers an area 30 kilometers wide, but the dune field stretches over an area Keep reading
Shedding Light on Martian Dust Storms
In 2018, Mars was enveloped by a global dust storm that lasted for months. Although such storms had been seen before, the 2018 storm offered an unprecedented opportunity for observation Keep reading
Exploring Martian Mud Flows
When looking at Mars and other parts of our solar system, planetary scientists are faced with a critical question: if what I’m looking at is similar to something on Earth, Keep reading
Martian Landslides
Sometimes there are advantages to studying planetary physics beyond Earth. Mars does not have plate tectonics, vegetation, or the level of erosion we do, allowing geological features like those left Keep reading
Dust Envelopes Mars
Day has turned into night for NASA’s Opportunity rover as a massive dust storm envelopes Mars. The first signs of the dust storm were reported May 30th, and over the Keep reading
Martian Bees, Canopies, and Dandelion Seeds
The latest FYFD/JFM video is out! May brings us a look at the incredible flight of dandelion seeds, numerical simulations that reveal the flow above forest canopies, and a look Keep reading