Mars is home to fierce winds that have remained hidden—until now. Two decades of images captured by orbiters circling the red planet have unveiled intense, fast-moving dust devils that reshape what we thought we knew about Martian winds.
If you picture wind on Mars, it might seem invisible, but thanks to the planet’s signature red dust, these winds announce themselves spectacularly by swirling dust into tornado-like vortices called dust devils. While such whirlwinds also occur on Earth, the latest comprehensive catalog of Martian dust devils—released Wednesday in the journal Science Advances—reveals something astonishing: these Martian dust devils move far faster and appear more frequently worldwide than previously believed, according to the study's lead author, Dr. Valentin Bickel, a fellow at the University of Bern’s Center for Space and Habitability.
The research team assembled this novel catalog by analyzing images taken over many years by two European spacecraft: the Mars Express orbiter (since 2004) and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (starting in 2016). They trained a neural network — a type of artificial intelligence modeled after the human brain—to recognize dust devil vortices within the vast archive of orbital photos. After the system identified potential dust devils, scientists manually verified each case, mapping 1,039 dust devils across Mars, from towering ancient volcanoes to broad open plains. They even tracked the movement direction of 373 dust devils, providing a dynamic picture of Martian wind patterns.
What surprised the researchers was that these dust devils—and the winds driving them—can reach speeds close to 99 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), which is significantly faster than the highest speeds recorded by rovers on Mars' surface. In an email, Bickel said, "This suggests that the winds are powerful enough to lift a sizable amount of dust from the surface into the planet's atmosphere." This discovery offers an essential missing piece toward understanding Mars’ dust cycle—pinpointing where, when, and how intensely dust is lifted and injected into the air.
Why does this matter? Tracking dust movement on Mars is crucial for planning future missions where robots or humans might explore the surface. Dust influences the planet’s weather and climate, but scientists can better study these effects by observing dust devils from orbit rather than waiting for ground-based data.
Unlike Earth, Mars doesn’t have rain to clear dust from the atmosphere. Once airborne, dust drifts around the entire planet, affecting sunlight that reaches the surface. During the day, dust blocks sunlight, cooling temperatures; at night, it acts like a blanket, preserving warmth. The new study suggests that dust devils could be a more important mechanism for kicking dust upward than we once thought.
Bickel has long been fascinated by how dust devils offer a glimpse into near-surface atmospheric behavior on Mars—and the fact that we can see these mini dust tornadoes from space is incredible. "Observing dust devils lets us determine wind speeds and directions that we otherwise couldn’t measure," he explained.
The team’s data reveal that dust devils are common across the planet but especially concentrated in Amazonis Planitia, one of Mars’ largest, smooth plains blanketed in dust and sand. Dust devils form when the surface heats the air above it, causing the warm air to rise and spin, dragging dust along. Amazonis Planitia offers ideal conditions for this because it’s flat and receives abundant sunlight in the summer.
There’s also a seasonal pattern: dust devil activity peaks during spring and summer in both hemispheres, usually occurring during the daytime hours between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.—similar to dust devils on Earth’s dry summer plains. They generally last just a few minutes.
Interestingly, these orbiters weren’t even designed to measure Martian wind speeds directly. Instead, the researchers cleverly used the way the spacecraft cameras capture images in multiple colors and channels separated by seconds. Moving dust devils cause subtle color offsets in the compiled images, which allowed the team to estimate their speed and direction.
“This clever use of Mars Express and ExoMars data for unexpected research is exciting,” commented Colin Wilson, ESA project scientist for both orbiters, though he was not involved in the study. “Dust is a game-changer on Mars — influencing everything from weather patterns to how well orbital cameras perform.”
Bickel notes that faster dust devils tend to travel in straight paths, while slower ones meander more with a wobbling motion. This differs quite a bit from earlier rover measurements that suggested dust devils generally travel below 31 miles per hour (50 kph), with a rare top speed of 62 miles per hour (100 kph). Now, it’s clear that some dust devils and their surrounding winds are far stronger.
But here’s where it gets controversial: Mars’ atmosphere is over 100 times thinner than Earth's, meaning these fierce-seeming winds would only feel like a gentle breeze to us. Wind power depends on air density, so even strong Martian gusts lack the force they would have on Earth. Bickel jokes, “A dust devil here wouldn’t knock you over.” Does this challenge our assumptions about how impactful Martian winds really are on shaping the landscape?
Picking safe, reliable landing sites for future missions is another vital use of these findings. Based on their catalog, researchers estimate that between 2004 and 2024, dust devils lifted between 2,200 and 55,000 tons of dust in Mars’ northern hemisphere, and between 1,000 and 25,000 tons in the southern hemisphere. These numbers help refine climate models that have historically underestimated the strength of winds moving sediment—a key factor for reconstructing Mars’ past environment and surface changes over millions of years.
Dr. Lori Fenton of the SETI Institute, who wasn’t involved in the research, explained via email that sand and dust movement on Mars is one of the main forces driving both surface transformation and climate shifts due to continuously changing atmospheric dust.
Dust is more than an academic issue; it’s a practical challenge for Mars exploration. Dust storms, sometimes planet-wide, have ended missions like Opportunity in 2019. Dust buildup on solar panels caused the shutdown of the InSight lander in 2022. Yet, dust devils can occasionally be a boon: in 2009, dust devils mysteriously cleaned the solar panels on the Spirit rover, boosting its energy supply.
Bickel and his colleagues plan to keep updating the dust devil catalog as new images arrive, aiming to help future missions better understand wind conditions before landing. This could aid in predicting dust accumulation on solar panels and how often rovers might need cleaning.
Data from this study is already shaping the search for the best landing site for ESA’s ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover slated for launch in 2030. Dr. Ralph Lorenz, an expert at Johns Hopkins University, praised the big picture this study provides, saying thorough knowledge of dust devils is vital for reliable solar power predictions on Mars—a crucial concern if humans one day set foot on the red planet.
Dr. J. Michael Battalio of Yale University highlighted another critical point: the importance of long-term, overlapping datasets from multiple Mars missions. These are under threat from proposed NASA budget cuts, yet they’re key for validating climate models that ensure the success and safety of future exploration. He reminded us that, “Studying Mars’ atmosphere helps us understand Earth’s weather too, making Mars a natural laboratory for atmospheric science.”
So, dust devils are not just fleeting dusty twisters; they hold the key to unlocking Mars’ atmospheric mysteries and securing our path to explore the planet safely. But here’s the burning question: how much are we underestimating dust’s impact on Mars—and are our current mission designs ready to face these dusty challenges?
What’s your take? Are dust devils the unsung heroes or hidden villains of Mars exploration? Share your thoughts below!
