Towering dust devils shake up Martian probe

Tornado-like Martian dust devils that dwarf their Earthly counterparts have been shaking up Nasa’s newest lander.

The “devils” consist of whirls of Martian soil whipped up by the wind that spin at nearly 60mph.

Dr Don Banfield, one of the scientists involved in the InSight mission, said: “They do shake the lander, and we’ve seen a lot of that.

“On Earth, the desert’s dust devils would be likely 15 metres across and almost a kilometre tall. On Mars, they can be five to 10 kilometres (three to six miles) tall. Big ones are 100 metres or more in diameter.”

The InSight craft landed on Mars in November.

Its mission is to investigate the planet’s interior structure and listen out for “Marsquakes”.

It is also giving scientists a rare close up glimpse of Martian  weather.

Currently it is winter time where InSight has touched down just north of the Martian equator.

The lander has recorded temperatures as cold as minus 95C at around 5am, Martian time, rising to a “warm” high of minus 5C.

Scientists have also observed strong convective overturning as the sun heats the Martian surface.

Dr Banfield, from Cornell University, New York, said: “Think of a pot of water boiling – the water is overturning vigorously.

“That happens on Mars, too.

“The atmosphere near the ground bubbles up like a buoyant plume of air.

“It happens on Earth, too, but you don’t feel it as much.

“On Mars it happens with a lot more vigour.”

Mars has a much less chaotic weather system than Earth, dominated by a “see-saw” of high and low pressure waves, he explained.