Mars Weather Watch

Mars has weather patterns that are both familiar and alien. Dust storms can grow to engulf the entire planet, lasting for months and blocking nearly all sunlight. The 2018 global dust storm killed NASA's Opportunity rover by starving its solar panels of light for weeks.

Martian mornings sometimes produce thin frost and fog in lowlands. Wind-carved sand dunes slowly shift across the surface. Dust devils hundreds of meters tall dance across the plains. The thin atmosphere lets temperatures swing wildly — from -70°C at night to 20°C at noon near the equator.