> Winds on Mars have around 99 percent less force compared to the winds of the same speed on Earth since Mars has a thinner atmosphere. Studies conducted on Martian winds were usually for landing or single assessments of mountainous ridges and they didn’t offer the full picture of the planet’s potential for wind energy, which can be different in different times of the day.

> Researchers made use of a global climate model originally designed for Earth, to look at wind movement on the red planet. They used detailed info about Mars such as precise landscape, heat, energy, dust levels, solar radiation levels etc. which were taken from maps generated by Mars Global Surveyor and Viking missions.

> Based on this info, they created a simulation to show the kind of wind speeds seen across the planet during the day, night and its seasons.

> Researchers saw that the wind energy was not just capable of complementing solar energy, especially during night and dust storms that block out sunlight, but even capable of completely replacing it in some areas. It showed the most potential around the Martian crater rims and the volcanic highlands.