Based on a historical pattern, scientists believe they can predict the occurrence of dust storms on Mars.

Global dust storms on Mars could soon become more predictable — which would be a boon for future astronauts there — if the next one follows a pattern suggested by those in the past.

A published prediction, based on this pattern, points to Mars experiencing a global dust storm in the next few months. “Mars will reach the midpoint of its current dust storm season on October 29th of this year. Based on the historical pattern we found, we believe it is very likely that a global dust storm will begin within a few weeks or months of this date,” James Shirley, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. This graphic indicates a similarity between 2016 (dark blue line) and five past years in which Mars has experienced global dust storms (orange lines and band), compared to years with no global dust storm (blue-green lines and band). The horizontal scale is time-of-year on Mars.

The most recent Martian global dust storm occurred in 2007, significantly diminishing solar power available to two NASA Mars rovers then active halfway around the planet from each other — Spirit and Opportunity.

“The global dust storm in 2007 was the first major threat to the rovers since landing,” said JPL’s John Callas, project manager for Spirit and Opportunity. “We had to take special measures to enable their survival for several weeks with little sunlight to keep them powered. Each rover powered up only a few minutes each day, enough to warm them up, then shut down to the next day without even communicating with Earth. For many days during the worst of the storm, the rovers were completely on their own.”

Dust storms also will present challenges for astronauts on the Red Planet. Although the force of the wind on Mars is not as strong as portrayed in an early scene in the movie “The Martian,” dust lofted during storms could affect electronics and health, as well as the availability of solar energy.

Related Research: Orbit-spin coupling and the circulation of the Martian atmosphere NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Tracks Back-to-Back Dust Storms Storm Spawns the Largest Tropospheric Vortex Ever Seen on Saturn Large Solar Storm Sparks Global Aurora on the Martian Surface Mars Global Surveyor Observes Textured Dust Storms Astronomers Study Textured Dust Storms on Mars MAVEN Spacecraft Set to Continue Mars Exploration Massive Saturn Storm Churns Up Water Ice from Great Depths Evidence That The Southern Amazon Rainforest Triggers Its Own Rainy Season
[null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/New-Study-Predicts-Next-Global-Dust-Storm-on-Mars.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/New-Study-Predicts-Next-Global-Dust-Storm-on-Mars.jpg", "formatted_filename": "New Study Predicts Next Global Dust Storm on Mars", "alt_text": "New Study Predicts Next Global Dust Storm on Mars", "rendered_width": 580, "rendered_height": 309}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Researcher-Predicts-Next-Global-Dust-Storm-on-Mars.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Researcher-Predicts-Next-Global-Dust-Storm-on-Mars.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Researcher Predicts Next Global Dust Storm on Mars", "alt_text": "Researcher Predicts Next Global Dust Storm on Mars", "rendered_width": 580, "rendered_height": 357}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Cassini-spacecraft-shows-what-a-giant-storm-in-Saturn-180x101.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Cassini-spacecraft-shows-what-a-giant-storm-in-Saturn-180x101.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Cassini spacecraft shows what a giant storm in Saturn", "rendered_width": 180, "rendered_height": 101}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Textured-Dust-Storms-Observed-by-Mars-Global-Surveyor-180x101.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Textured-Dust-Storms-Observed-by-Mars-Global-Surveyor-180x101.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Textured Dust Storms Observed by Mars Global Surveyor", "alt_text": "Textured Dust Storms Observed by Mars Global Surveyor", "rendered_width": 180, "rendered_height": 101}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Dust-Storms-on-Mars-180x101.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Dust-Storms-on-Mars-180x101.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Dust Storms on Mars", "alt_text": "Dust Storms on Mars", "rendered_width": 180, "rendered_height": 101}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/MAVEN-Continues-Mars-Exploration-180x101.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/MAVEN-Continues-Mars-Exploration-180x101.jpg", "formatted_filename": "MAVEN Continues Mars Exploration", "rendered_width": 180, "rendered_height": 101}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Saturn-Storm-Churns-Up-Water-Ice-from-Great-Depths-180x101.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Saturn-Storm-Churns-Up-Water-Ice-from-Great-Depths-180x101.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Saturn Storm Churns Up Water Ice from Great Depths", "rendered_width": 180, "rendered_height": 101}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Study-Shows-the-Amazon-Makes-Its-Own-Rainy-Season-180x101.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Study-Shows-the-Amazon-Makes-Its-Own-Rainy-Season-180x101.jpg", "formatted_filename": "NASA Study Shows the Amazon Makes Its Own Rainy Season", "alt_text": "NASA Study Shows the Amazon Makes Its Own Rainy Season", "rendered_width": 180, "rendered_height": 101}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-twitter.png", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-twitter.png", "formatted_filename": "ico social twitter", "alt_text": "Twitter"}, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-facebook.png", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-facebook.png", "formatted_filename": "ico social facebook", "alt_text": "Facebook"}, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-googleplus.png", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-googleplus.png", "formatted_filename": "ico social googleplus", "alt_text": "Google+"}, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-pinterest.png", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/wp-content/themes/scitech/images/ico-social-pinterest.png", "formatted_filename": "ico social pinterest", "alt_text": "Pinterest"}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Juno-Views-Elusive-Brown-Barge-373x210.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Juno-Views-Elusive-Brown-Barge-373x210.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Juno Views Elusive Brown Barge", "alt_text": "Juno Views Elusive Brown Barge", "rendered_width": 373, "rendered_height": 210}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Obesity-Alters-Airway-Muscle-Function-120x67.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Obesity-Alters-Airway-Muscle-Function-120x67.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Obesity Alters Airway Muscle Function", "alt_text": "Obesity Alters Airway Muscle Function", "rendered_width": 120, "rendered_height": 67}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Foldable-Heat-Shield-Could-Help-NASA-Deliver-Much-Bigger-Cargo-to-Deep-Space-120x67.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Foldable-Heat-Shield-Could-Help-NASA-Deliver-Much-Bigger-Cargo-to-Deep-Space-120x67.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Foldable Heat Shield Could Help NASA Deliver Much Bigger Cargo to Deep Space", "alt_text": "Foldable Heat Shield Could Help NASA Deliver Much Bigger Cargo to Deep Space", "rendered_width": 120, "rendered_height": 67}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Researchers-Find-Evidence-of-Early-Planetary-Shake-Up-120x67.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Researchers-Find-Evidence-of-Early-Planetary-Shake-Up-120x67.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Researchers Find Evidence of Early Planetary Shake Up", "alt_text": "Researchers Find Evidence of Early Planetary Shake Up", "rendered_width": 120, "rendered_height": 67}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Exercise-%E2%80%98Cleans-Up%E2%80%99-Alzheimer%E2%80%99s-Environment-120x67.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Exercise-%E2%80%98Cleans-Up%E2%80%99-Alzheimer%E2%80%99s-Environment-120x67.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Exercise  E     Cleans Up E     Alzheimer E     s Environment", "alt_text": "Exercise \u2018Cleans Up\u2019 Alzheimer\u2019s Environment", "rendered_width": 120, "rendered_height": 67}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Wolf-503b-120x67.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Wolf-503b-120x67.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Wolf b", "alt_text": "Wolf 503b", "rendered_width": 120, "rendered_height": 67}, null, {"document_url": "https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-predict-the-next-global-dust-storm-on-mars/", "unformatted_src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Beer-Consumption-Linked-to-Prostate-Cancer-Risk-120x67.jpg", "src": "https://scitechdaily.com/images/Beer-Consumption-Linked-to-Prostate-Cancer-Risk-120x67.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Beer Consumption Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk", "alt_text": "Beer Consumption Linked to Prostate Cancer Risk", "rendered_width": 120, "rendered_height": 67}, null, null]