(WHDH) — Mars is freezing and rocky, and our red planet neighbor is also fraught with tornadoes.
An image from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show a Martian dune field filled with trails created by dust devils.
Scientists have known about whirlwinds on Mars for years. They say that astronauts will have to watch out for them when they visit the planet.
Since Mars has lower atmospheric pressure than Earth, a person on the surface wouldn’t feel much wind.
Getting hit with flying debris would be just as much of a risk as it is on Earth. Moving dust and sand could also become electrically charged and arc to spacesuits and vehicles.
NASA says it is likely that not all the tracks in this image were caused by dust devils.
Researchers believe some of them were caused by dry ice from higher elevations sliding down slopes.
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