Perseverance experienced a mini tornado 2 km high!

August 30, 2023 i.e. 899^H On the day of his mission to Mars, perseveranceperseverance He again witnessed the passage of a small tornado. This phenomenon is also called ” Dust devil “, has already been captured before roverrover, who also recorded the audio. This time, a short video brought to us by Perseverance.

Its height is estimated at 2 km!

there tornadotornado It passed about four kilometers from the spacecraft, located in Jezero Crater. Images taken by Perseverance made it possible to estimate the width of the dust plume at 60 metres, which was moving at just under 20 km/h. Only the base of the tornado was photographed, but thanks to the resulting shadow, researchers were able to estimate its total height at 2 km.

the Dust devils These are phenomena that are impossible to predict, even if they seem relatively frequent, especially during the spring and summer months. Note A Dust devil It is therefore always a small event, the study of which in particular allows a better understanding and improvement of the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere Weather modelsWeather models From the red planet.