How 80,000 citizen scientists are mapping the invisible winds of the Red Planet

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captures images of wind-driven patterns on the Martian surface. By enlisting thousands of volunteers to analyze these photos, researchers are uncovering how wind shapes the planet's climate and influences the growth of massive dust storms.

Martian winds range from small dust devils to planet-wide dust storms. To track these patterns, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter uses its HiRISE camera to document surface features. Leslie Tamppari, the orbiter's Deputy Project Scientist, explains that identifying wind-formed 'fans' across the landscape is essential for understanding both current and historical Martian climates.

The scale of this task required crowdsourcing: 80,000 citizen scientists helped identify hundreds of thousands of these wind-blown fans. This data is critical for predicting dust storm behavior, which is vital for the safety of future robotic and human exploration missions to Mars.

Source: How Scientists Study Wind on Mars (NASA Mars News Report June 22, 2022)