InSight Lander: Martian Dust Devil has hit Nasa’s Mars rover

Illustration of InSight on MarsImage source, Nasa/JPL-CALTECH
Image caption,

This illustration shows what InSight looks like on Mars

A Martian dust devil has hit Nasa's InSight Lander on Mars. Don't worry though, it's still in one piece.

A dust devil is where a gust of really fast wind picks up debris and becomes visible as a column.

According to Nasa, catastrophic dust storms have the potential to end a mission.

On Nasa's previous mission they lost contact with the Opportunity Rover because its solar panels were covered in dust.

However, on this occasion, Nasa says the dust storm actually helped to clear off some annoying dust that had been collecting on the InSight Lander's solar panels.

The Mars InSight Lander has been on the red planet since November 2018.

The mission is going to help scientists to learn about Mars in a way that has never been done before, by exploring deep beneath its surface.