NASA's Perseverance rover has now been exploring Mars for a little over two years, and it has captured and sent back some amazing photos during that stretch. Recently, the car-seized rover also used one of its navigation cameras to take a series of images of the wondrous views of the planet's extraterrestrial skies.
The space agency released an eerie view of the dark Mars sky, captured just before sunrise on March 18, 2023, the 738th Martian day of the mission. "Dusty and cold, sure - but Mars has a certain, raw beauty. Dawn at the Red Planet, with high clouds floating by. Take time to look up," NASA wrote on Twitter while sharing a GIF of the drifting clouds.
Take a look below:
Since being shared, the space agency's post has accumulated more than 459,000 views and over 3,800 likes.
"This is what I call a wonder of the world," wrote one user in the comment section. "Fascinating," said another.
A third user commented, "We get to see clouds floating another planet-how amazing is that?!!!" A fourth added, "You can make art in your spare time, Perseverance."
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In a press release, NASA explained that Mars clouds are very much like Earth's cirrus clouds but thinner. "While Earth clouds can contain liquid water, the low temperatures and pressures on Mars only allow for water-ice (and CO2 ice) clouds to form. However, these water-ice clouds are optically thin because of the low amounts of water present in the Martian atmosphere," the space agency said.
NASA also stated that scientists on both the Perseverance mission and NASA's Curiosity rover mission are now studying the formation process of Martian clouds. The Perseverance rover is currently rumbling through the Jezero Crater, home to a dried-up river delta and a place planetary scientists believe once hosted a lake. "This delta is one of the best locations on Mars for the rover to look for signs of past microscopic life," the space agency said.
