
Copernical Team
Record-breaking launch of SpaceX's Starlink satellites

NASA's Perseverance captures dust-filled Martian whirlwind

The lower portion of a Martian dust devil was captured moving along the western rim of Mars' Jezero Crater by NASA's Perseverance rover on Aug. 30, 2023, the 899th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The video, which was sped up 20 times, is composed of 21 frames taken four seconds apart by one of the rover's Navcams.
Much weaker and generally smaller than Earth's tornadoes, dust devils are one of the mechanisms that move and redistribute dust around Mars. Scientists study them to better understand the Martian atmosphere and improve their weather models.
Using data from the imagery, mission scientists determined that this particular dust devil was about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) away, at a location nicknamed "Thorofare Ridge," and moving east to west at about 12 mph (19 kph). They calculated its width to be about 200 feet (60 meters). And while only the bottom 387 feet (118 meters) of the swirling vortex are visible in the camera frame, the scientists could also estimate its full height.
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Week in images: 25-29 September 2023

Week in images: 25-29 September 2023
Discover our week through the lens
Earth from Space: Southern Patagonian Ice Field

India space chief unfazed by Moon mission's apparent end

As hopes dim of further contact with India's moon rover, the country's space chief has said he was satisfied with the prospect of calling its successful lunar mission to an end.
India began exploring the moon's surface in August after becoming just the fourth nation to land a craft on the celestial body, sparking celebrations in a country rapidly closing in on milestones set by global space powers.
Rover Pragyan—"Wisdom" in Sanskrit—surveyed the vicinity of the moon's south pole but was powered down before the start of lunar night, which lasts roughly two weeks on Earth.
The Indian Space Research Agency had hoped to prolong the mission by reactivating the solar-powered vehicle once daylight returned to the lunar surface, but so far has been greeted by radio silence.