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The demons of dust on Mars are not a joke, some reaching sizes as high as tornadoes on Earth. Whirlwinds often roam the Martian surface, leaving behind signs indicative of their presence.
A recent global dust storm on Mars, which is in the process of retreating, seems to have left a business card in a new image of the European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter spacecraft released Wednesday.
This collection of streaks resembling stripes was probably due to dust devils.
ESA / Roscosmos / CaSSIS
The processed view shows a terrain of foreign appearance described as "chaotic blocks". The surface looks like a giant clawed hand that has lowered and scratched everything, revealing dark streaks against a lighter background.
The dust devils are common on Mars. The rovers of NASA have saw them from ground level. NASA's Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, which has now disappeared, even caught dust in 1999.
Although the ESA has titled the picture "the footsteps of the devil on Mars," the space agency leaves the door open for further explanations of the distinguishing marks, calling the dust devils "a possible interpretation" of the dark streaks .
The features have a strong resemblance to the brands seen in a 2016 image of NASA's Mars Odyssey 2001 mission. NASA says that lines resembling "scratches" are produced by the activity of the devil's dust, scouring the surface and removing lighter toned dust to reveal the darker rocky surface underneath. "
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