The iridescent cloud reveals new clues about ice formation in the Martian atmosphere (no little green men, sorry).

The Sun sets differently on Mars. Part of that is due to its distance from the star (an average of 142 million miles versus Earth’s roughly 93 million miles), but it also has to do with the planet’s atmosphere. A great example of the effects can be seen in the Red Planet’s noctilucent clouds.

The car-sized Curiosity rover has spotted evidence of once quite hospitable environs on Mars.

"I'll always remember the first time I saw those iridescent clouds and was sure at first it was some color artifact."

The phenomenon of twilight clouds was first observed on Mars in 1997 during NASA’s Pathfinder mission. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that the Curiosity Rover captured the firs

At the surface, Mars is a desolate, barren world with a rocky landscape, massive dust storms and extreme temperature swings. However, a rover recently captured a splash of color in the sky as rare clouds drifted overhead.