See a swirling dust devil on Mars, captured by NASA's Perseverance rover
The rover's cameras caught sight of the whirling wind action.
This view shows the end of the Perseverance rover's arm. There's no dust devil in this image, but there is noticeable haze along the horizon.
Not long after landing, NASA's Perseverance rover used a microphone to listen to the wind on Mars. Now it's also gotten an eyeful of what that wind can do. On Tuesday, NASA shared the rover's view of a whirling dust devil making its way across the Martian landscape.
The Perseverance team posted two GIFs on social media, one showing a wider look and one showing a zoomed-in view.
See the zoomed-in view of this dust devil on Mars. pic.twitter.com/4ILDqoejZ8
— NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) March 16, 2021
"You can see it in the distance behind my robotic arm in this enhanced/processed view," NASA wrote. "The dust devil is moving right to left and creating whirlwinds of dust in its path."
Mars is a notoriously dusty and windy place, making it the perfect environment for dust devils, some of which can reach towering proportions.
The rover's-eye viewpoint gives a ground-level perspective on the phenomenon, which can also be seen from orbit on occasion. Earlier this month, NASA shared a snap of a whirlwind taken by its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft.
This may mark the Perseverance rover's first dust devil sighting, but it won't be its last. NASA's other functioning Mars rover, Curiosity, has seen its share of the feisty vortexes.
Dust devils aren't just fun to look at, they can also be helpful to robotic explorers. NASA has been hoping a whirlwind will come along to clean off the dust-laden solar panels of its stationary Insight lander.
Perseverance is just beginning its science mission, so we can look forward to more scenic shots of the wild winds on Mars.
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