A huge dust storm swept across Mars over the weekend but weakened by the time it reached the Phoenix Mars Lander on Saturday.
[right, image of Mars taken from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The polar ice cap is in the middle of the image. The 37,000 square km (almost 23,000 square miles) dust storm moved counter clockwise through the Phoenix landing site on Oct 11. Phoenix is shown as a small white dot, located at about 10 o’clock position. The storm, which had already passed over the landing site earlier in the day, is located at about a 9:30 o’clock position. Credit, NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems.]