(WJW) – When the Perseverance Rover launched for Mars in 2020, scientists knew they would see things they never expected.

On August 30, 2023, it captured part of a Martian dust devil, NASA said.

The video has been enhanced to show more detail.

Using data from the imagery, mission scientists determined that the dust devil was about 2.5 miles away, from a location nicknamed “Thorofare Ridge.” 

The dust devil moves east to west at about 12 mph, NASA said.

It was about 200 feet wide, and scientists believe more than a mile high, based on its shadow.

“Only the bottom 387 feet of the swirling vortex are visible in the camera frame,” NASA said.

Perseverance’s Mars mission is to collect Martian rock to search for signs of ancient microbial life.