Posted on 11/16/2012 6:38:44 PM PST by BenLurkin
Although the robot's cameras have yet to catch sight of them, it seems whirlwinds of dust have been skirting around the six-wheeled vehicle.
From the data gathered by Curiosity's meteorological station, scientists think dust-devils may even have run over the mobile laboratory.
It is not entirely unexpected. Vortices of dust whipped up by the wind have been pictured by previous Mars rovers.
"A dust-devil looks essentially like what you would expect from the movies - a tiny tornado that is lifting dust," explained Manuel de la Torre Juarez of Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and a scientist on the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (Rems) instrument.
"Understanding these phenomena is very important because the Martian climate is driven largely by its dust cycle."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Those lil’ tornadoes are weird lookin’ things. I saw a lot of them in Iraq.
If we can afford to send thousands of American military personnel and billions of dollars worth of technology to the god forsaken rocks in Afghanistan and Iraq, then we can afford to send a few probes to Mars.
or not
Since my name is on the Curiosity, it makes me have an interest in it.
Seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFvNhsWMU0c
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