 Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/Texas A&M University  The Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander caught this dust devil in action west of the lander at 11:49 a.m. local Mars time on Sol 104, or the 104th Martian day of the mission, Sept. 9, 2008. Dust devils have not been detected in any Phoenix images from earlier in the mission, but at least six were observed in a dozen images taken on Sol 104. Dust devils are whirlwinds that often occur when the Sun heats the surface of Mars, or some areas on Earth. The warmed surface heats the layer of atmosphere closest to it, and the warm air rises in a whirling motion, stirring dust up from the surface like a miniature tornado. The dust devil visible in the center of this image just below the horizon is estimated to be about 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) from Phoenix, and 4 meters (13 feet) in diameter. It is much smaller than dust devils that have been observed by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit much closer to the equator. It is closer in size to dust devils seen from orbit in the Phoenix landing region, though still smaller than those. The image has been enhanced to make the dust devil easier to see. NASA's Phoenix Lander Sees, Feels Martian Whirlwinds In ActionSeptember 11, 2008 NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has photographed several dust devils dancing across the arctic plain this week and sensed a dip in air pressure as one passed near the lander.These dust-lofting whirlwinds had been expected in the area, but none had been detected in earlier Phoenix images. The Surface Stereo Imager camera on Phoenix took 29 images of the western and southwestern horizon on Sept. 8, during mid-day hours of the lander's 104th Martian day. The next day, after the images had been transmitted to Earth, the Phoenix science team noticed a dust devil right away. "It was a surprise to have a dust devil so visible that it stood with just the normal processing we do," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, lead scientist for the stereo camera. "Once we saw a couple that way, we did some additional processing and found there are dust devils in 12 of the images." Read More       Frosty Devilsby Patrick WoidaSeptember 10, 2008 - The Winds of Change continue to sweep across the landscape. Today we found dust devils (small cyclones) in our Sol 104 images. This is part of the "Happy Ever After" high resolution pan. We already have our ...Read More Spooky Solsby Patrick WoidaSeptember 05, 2008 -I'm almost getting used to the kind of spooky environment here at the Science Operations Center in Tucson. So VERY different than the primary mission. We've got extended mission, Earth time, and ... Read More |
  Media UpdatePlease check the Phoenix Mars Mission web sites for mission updates this week. |
The Phoenix Mission is led by Principal Investigator Peter H. Smith of The University of Arizona, supported by a science team of CO-Is, with project management at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and development partnership with Lockheed Martin Space Systems. International contributions are provided by the Canadian Space Agency; the University of Neuchatel, Switzerland; the universities of Copenhagen and Aarhus Denmark; the Max Planck Institute, Germany; and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Additional information on Phoenix is online at here and here. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Additional information on NASA's Mars program is online at here.
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In remembrance of Diane Michelangeli
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