NASA Curiosity rover captured for the first-time unusual clouds in Mars. After years of recording, Martian clouds shaped by gravity waves spotted.
Mail Online reported how the NASA Curiosity rover keeps recording on Mars for the last five years. The rover has recorded more than 500 videos of the Mars' clouds as it turns in an upwards and downward motion. For the first time, the footage of Martian clouds that was shaped by gravity waves was captured.
According to Phys.org, the findings will be featured at the annual conference of the Lunar and Planetary Science from March 20th to 24th. NASA Curiosity rover had been a great help for researchers after it has obtained the unique and interesting images of the Mars' clouds.
NASA Curiosity rover successfully captured the gravity waves shaped clouds resulting from the energy of Mars as it tries to restore its natural equilibrium. These gravity waves shaped clouds was a usual cloud activity on Earth, and at first, researchers not even think that it is possible on Mars.
The NASA Curiosity rover camera has been a great help for researchers as it had recorded eight-frame videos for almost two Martian years that is equal to 3.7 years on Earth. It even clearly captured how the gravity waves shaped clouds reached its thickness two times in a day.
Researchers believe that the gravity waves shaped clouds which were captured by the NASA Curiosity rover in the morning was formed by the cooler temperatures as air hold less water vapor. On the other hand, the appearance of the thick gravity waves shaped clouds in the afternoon was still unknown.
For the meantime, the images and videos of the gravity waves shaped clouds seized by the camera of the NASA Curiosity rover was kept for further investigations and to analyze future changes on the Mars' atmosphere. Researchers are confident that the findings will lead them to discover more about Mars' watery past and the relation of liquid salt water going onto its surface as it experiences very limited amount of precipitation.