A NASA rover recently spotted a rare phenomenon of a dust devil consuming a smaller one on Mars. The footage was captured by the Perseverance rover‘s navigation camera during an imaging experiment to better understand the forces at play in the Martian atmosphere.
From a distance of about one kilometre, the rover captured a dust storm approximately 210 feet (65 metres) wide swallowing 16 feet (5 meters) wide at a location called “Witch Hazel Hill” in the Jezero crater.
These dust devils may look strong, but not to worry: In the thin atmosphere of Mars, it feels more like a gust of wind.
Studying these phenomena can teach my team about the Martian climate: https://t.co/ilmSSfkh4U pic.twitter.com/azI0wcqrez
— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere)