New Photos Reveal the Cloud Drifting in Mars

NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured the image of Mars Clouds. Clouds grow brighter as they fill with crystals, shimmering as the sky darkens behind them in a remarkable display. While NASA’s Perseverance rover has been grabbing the attention of late, the Curiosity rover has remained on the red planet since it arrived in 2012.

After scientists noticed two years ago that clouds were forming above the rover earlier than expected, they prepared to start documenting these clouds when they appeared in late January. The photographs, captured on March 19, show clouds at a much higher altitude than the usual clouds, which are about 37 miles in the sky, meaning they are likely made of frozen carbon dioxide or dry ice.

Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo., said that if you see a cloud with a shimmery pastel set of colors in it, that’s because the cloud particles are all nearly identical in size. They happen after the clouds formation and have all grown at the same rate.The composite image is made up of 21 individual images, including color images from the rover’s Mast Camera, colour-corrected to look as it would to the human eye. The iridescent, mother of pearl clouds would be visible, although faint, with the naked eye on the red planet.

NASA’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity will take to the air again this weekend. Ingenuity’s handlers are prepping the 4-lb. Chopper for its seventh Martian flight, which will take place no earlier than Sunday June 6. The plan is to send Ingenuity to a new airfield, about 105 meters south of its current location on the floor of Jezero Crater.