NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has captured shining clouds on the Red Planet, which arrived earlier and formed higher than expected. The atmosphere on Mars is usually thin, dry, and cloudy days are rare. But the scientists noticed clouds forming over NASA's Curiosity rover earlier than expected, one full Martian year ago - two Earth years. Besides being spectacular displays, such images help scientists understand how clouds form on Mars and why these recent ones are different, NASA said. Curiosity, which landed on Mars in 2012, was designed to assess whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms called microbes.

Source: dna May 30, 2021 06:56 UTC