NASA's Curiosity Rover shares rare glimpse of Earth-like Clouds on Mars

NASA's Curiosity rover has shared stunning video footage of Earth-like clouds passing over Mars. The video was shot by the navigation cameras attached to the top of the car-sized rover, which landed on the Red Planet in August 2012. 

The 5-minute video footage, captured on March 19, 2021 was shared on Twitter by Dr. Paul Byrne from North Carolina State University. He posted the video with a caption that read, "Clouds in the sky, gently passing overhead."

In another tweet, Dr. Bryne said that the video is a set of eight images taken by Mars Curiosity’s right navigation camera. He further stated that the rocky outcrop in the foreground is a seven-meter cliff’, nicknamed as ‘Mont Mercou,’ by the Curiosity rover team.

This is a set of eight images taken by @MarsCuriosity's right navigation camera, spanning a period of about five minutes. The rocky outcrop in the foreground is a ~7 m-tall cliff of layered sediments nicknamed by the rover team "Mont Mercou".

— Prof. Paul Byrne (@ThePlanetaryGuy) March 20, 2021

The video triggered speculations that the clouds are the same as the ones we see on Earth. 

Are the Martian clouds similar to the clouds on Earth?

•Though the Martian clouds look similar to the clouds on Earth, as per experts, they are totally different from those on Earth due to vastly different atmospheres on the Red Planet. 

•The atmosphere on Mars is very thin and made of 96 percent carbon dioxide and hence, the formation of thick clouds is not possible. Hence, the clouds on Mars are light and are formed through different ways. 

•The cloud formation on the Red Planet is believed to be partly caused by the dust that is formed when space debris hits its atmosphere.

•The Martian clouds can also be  ‘noctilucent’, which means they are lit up by the Sun even at night time due to being high up above the Martian surface.

•On the other hand, Earth's atmosphere is rich in nitrogen and oxygen and water molecules condense around particles to form thick clouds over the planet. 

Background

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover had landed on the Red Planet in August 2012 to determine whether the Red Planet ever was, or is, habitable to microbial life. 

The Curiosity Rover is about the size of a MINI Cooper car. It is equipped with 17 cameras, a robotic arm and includes a host of specialized laboratory-like tools and instruments. 

The rover has spent over 8 years on the Martian surface and it is still operating properly and continues its mission to study and understand the Red Planet. 

The Curiosity Rover was joined by NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed successfully on the Red Planet's Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021.

The Perseverance Rover has also been sent to search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. It will become the first-ever mission to bring back rock samples from Mars to Earth, paving the way for future manned missions. 

The Perseverance Rover had recently sent back sounds it recorded while driving on the red planet using its ‘sensitive’ EDL microphone. The recordings are for more than 16 minutes from its drive on March 7th.