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Source behind dust storms and shut down of NASA's rover on mars found by scientists




The fourth planet from the sun, Mars, is a planet covered with dust not only on surface but in its atmosphere also.

But what is the source of this dust? 

This always remained a question in past.Study published by space scientists in journal Nature communications got the answers for this question.

They found a 1000 kilometres long geological formation near the Mars's equator.

Scientists involved in this study found same ratio of major constituent elements of the surface feature and in the atmosphere of Mars

They named this geological formation Medusae Fossae Formation.

The periodic erosion of Medusae Fossae formation creates dust. This dust in atmosphere from this giant deposit is reason of pollution on Mars explained by one of the co author Kevin Lewis assistant professor of earth and planetary science at John Hopkins University.

Photo by Serge Jouqier on Unsplash


We all have watched the film Martian where we can see that actor Matt Damon faces severe problems due to the dusty atmosphere of Mars.

The same problems are faced by real missions also including NASA's spirit Mars exploration rover.

The shut down of NASA's rover also took place due to dust deposits on expensive instruments and the solar panels which ensures the working of rover ,thus dust in atmosphere can cause problems for missions on Mars.

On earth there is completely different scenario, on earth dust is separated from soft rock formation by natural forces like wind, glaciers  water, volcanoes and meteor impact.




Lujendra Ojha a post doctoral fellow in Lewis's lab and his team checked dust's chemical composition on landers and rovers kept far away showed same major constituent elements chlorine and sulphur in there chemical composition in  same ratio.

Team also studied data from the Mars odyssey orbiter which is operational from 2001. They found that the MFF(Medusae Fossae Formation) region also enriched in sulphur and chlorine and have that same distinct ratio of chlorine and sulphur found in dust storms , on landers and rovers.

Some more things to know...

  • Earlier findings suggested that MFF has a volcanic origin and is one of the largest known volcanic deposit in our solar system.
  • Erosion of the deposit by wind left behind wind carved regions known as Yardangs.
  • The MFF region consists enough deposits to form a 2 to 12 metres thick layer of sand on Mars.
  • Sand in atmosphere and loosely bound sand on surface can affect mars climate by absorbing solar radiation.
  • The difference of temperature caused due to higher temperature in atmosphere and lower temperature on surface can create strong dusty winds which also lift even more dust.
  • Some more notable scientists in this team are Sunil Karunatilake of Louisiana state University  Mariek Schmidt of Brock University in Canada.

More latest news about Mars :





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