Hop, skip and a jump

The bouncing grains of Martian sand

The Martian atmosphere is thin, but it can whip up a mean sandstorm: On the Red Planet, wind-driven grains travel up to 10 times faster than those blowing along Earth’s surface, new analyses suggest.

BLOWN IN THE WIND SLOW MOTION Winds strong enough to kick up sand grains on Mars occur, on average, only once every five years, a new study suggests.