Imagine powerful winds blasting across the surface of Mars, invisible to the eye except for the swirling red dust that reveals their fierce presence. For two decades, images taken by orbiters circling Mars have unveiled these intense windstorms known as dust devils—tornado-like whirlwinds that pick up the planet’s famous rust-colored dust, turning it into dramatic vortexes. But here’s where it gets controversial: the new research suggests that Martian dust devils aren’t just curious phenomena; they’re far more frequent and move significantly faster than anything recorded on Earth or even by rovers on Mars itself.
This eye-opening discovery comes from a study published in the journal Science Advances, led by Dr. Valentin Bickel from the University of Bern’s Center for Space and Habitability. Using images captured by the European Space Agency’s Mars Express since 2004 and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter since 2016, Bickel’s team trained an advanced neural network—a form of machine learning inspired by how our brains work—to detect these dust devils automatically in orbital data. From this, they built a comprehensive catalog of 1,039 dust devils globally scattered across Mars, from ancient volcanic peaks to open plains.
What makes this catalog especially valuable is that researchers could track the movement direction of 373 of these mighty swirling dust columns. They discovered winds reaching speeds up to about 99 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), much faster than any previously measured by ground rovers. These stronger winds can lift substantial amounts of dust into the atmosphere, a crucial part of Mars’ atmospheric cycle that shapes weather and climate. As Bickel explained, understanding exactly where, when, and how much dust these dust devils loft into the air fills in a key piece of the Martian climate puzzle.
Tracking and understanding dust movement on Mars is vital, especially as humans prepare for future exploration. Unlike Earth, where rain helps clear dust quickly, Martian dust can linger in the atmosphere for long periods, traveling across the planet and significantly affecting temperatures. Dust blocks sunlight during the day, cooling the surface, while at night, it acts like a blanket, trapping heat and keeping temperatures warmer. This dual effect has a profound impact on the planet’s daily climate patterns.
Surprisingly, this new research indicates dust devils may contribute more dust to the Martian atmosphere than scientists previously believed, challenging assumptions about how dust cycles operate on Mars. Bickel’s fascination with dust devils goes beyond just their dramatic visuals: from orbit, these whirlwinds reveal wind speed and direction details that would otherwise remain invisible.
The study highlighted Amazonis Planitia, one of Mars’ smoothest and dustiest plains, as a hotspot for dust devil activity. This flat, sun-soaked region in the summer offers perfect conditions for dust devils to form, where heat rising from the surface causes air to spin and lift dust. The dust devils occur seasonally too, with peak activity during spring and summer on both hemispheres, mostly during midday hours—mirroring patterns observed in Earth’s desert regions.
Interestingly, neither orbiters were equipped with instruments dedicated to measuring wind speeds, but clever use of image data provided a workaround. Both Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter create images by stitching together data from multiple color channels over time. Because dust devils move during the interval between capturing these channels, they appear shifted or blurred in the composite images. By analyzing these “color offsets,” the team could estimate dust devil velocity and movement.
Colin Wilson, ESA’s project scientist for these missions, praised this creative use of data, emphasizing dust’s pervasive influence from local weather to image clarity. The research also revealed different behaviors: faster dust devils tend to move straight, while slower ones weave side to side. Earlier measurements capped speeds at around 62 mph (100 kph), but these new observations show much higher velocities and suggest stronger dust lifting winds.
Yet, it’s important to remember Martian air is more than 100 times thinner than Earth’s. So despite these fast winds, the force would feel like a gentle breeze to us—strong enough to lift dust but nothing like the powerful gusts we experience on Earth. Bickel chuckled, saying a dust devil on Mars wouldn’t knock someone over.
The study also estimated that between 2004 and 2024, dust devils lofted 2,200 to 55,000 tons of dust into the atmosphere in the northern hemisphere and 1,000 to 25,000 tons in the southern. These findings suggest current climate models have underestimated the strength and impact of Mars’ wind-driven sediment movement, which is critical for reconstructing the planet’s past environment and understanding ongoing surface changes.
Dr. Lori Fenton from the SETI Institute highlighted how dust shapes Martian surface and climate dynamics by driving erosion, sediment deposition, and persistent atmospheric dust loading.
Dust is also a huge challenge for Mars missions. Global dust storms have prematurely ended missions like Opportunity in 2019, and dust buildup on solar panels caused the InSight lander mission to conclude in 2022. But sometimes, dust devils offer a lucky break by clearing dust off solar panels, as happened for the Spirit rover in 2009.
Bickel’s team plans to keep updating their database with new images, helping scientists better prepare for landing sites by forecasting wind conditions and dust accumulation rates. This work is already influencing site selection for ESA’s upcoming ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission, scheduled to land in 2030.
Planetary scientist Dr. Ralph Lorenz from Johns Hopkins University called dust devils among Mars’ most visible and intriguing atmospheric phenomena, essential for understanding solar power variability and mission longevity—something especially vital with human missions on the horizon.
Dr. J. Michael Battalio from Yale University emphasized the importance of this dataset to improve Mars weather and climate models, which in turn ensures mission safety and success. He warned that proposed NASA budget cuts threaten the continuation of long-term Mars observations, which are invaluable not only for exploration but also for insights into Earth’s climate. Mars acts as a natural laboratory for comparative atmospheric science, helping us refine our models of weather and atmospheric dynamics on Earth.
So here’s the question to you: With new evidence showing Martian dust devils are stronger and more influential than previously thought, how might this reshape our approach to exploring and living on Mars? Could these swirling dust storms be both a menace and an unexpected ally? Share your thoughts—do you see dust devils as a challenge to overcome or a natural asset to harness during Mars missions?
