NASA's Fascinating Stash Of Martian GIFS

On another world, man-made objects are being buffeted by alien weather patterns. That's pretty damn amazing.

The Curiosity Parachute moves in the wind.

nasa.gov

NASA just released this GIF of Curiosity's parachute in motion. Over the course of six months, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter kept an eye on the parachute which assisted in Curiosity's landing.

When strung together, the seven images show the parachute moving as the wind sweeps over the landscape. Researchers may use this to help them understand wind patterns and how they affect the surface of Mars.

But this isn't the first time NASA has utilized GIFS.

For example:

The Phoenix captured this Martian sunrise.

nasa.gov

And these alien clouds rolling through a Martian sky.

nasa.gov

Curiosity recently dusted down to the rocky surface of Mars.

nasa.gov

And drilled into the shocking pale stone to bring home samples.

nasa.gov

They've even captured a dust devil racing across the plains.

nasa.gov