Martian dust devils

Martian dust devils are convective atmospheric vortices that occur on the surface of Mars. They were discovered from data reported by NASA's Viking probes, and have been photographed by orbiting satellites and surface rovers in subsequent missions.

Although comparable to terrestrial dust devils in formation and appearance, Martian dust devils can be many times larger than ones found on Earth. They can be powerful enough to pose a threat to rovers and other technology,^[1] although some documented encounters have actually benefitted rovers by cleaning them of dust.