Stunning Mars Video Shows Wispy Clouds Gliding By Martian Sky [WATCH]

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover recently captured a stunning view of the Martian sky.

On May 7 and May 12 (the 2,405th Martian day, or sol, of its mission), the rover looked up at Mars' sky and caught the wispy clouds gliding by the Red Planet's atmosphere in a video.

According to NASA officials, the "noctilucent" clouds were flying about 19 miles (31 kilometers) above the Martian surface. Like Earth's cirrus clouds, Mars' clouds are also believed to be composed of water ice.

Despite the similarities of their cloud composition, Mars' atmosphere is still vastly different from that of our home planet. The air on the Red Planet is 100 times thinner than Earth's. It also comprises mostly of carbon dioxide, with only a small trace of oxygen, unlike our planet's which is dominated by nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent).

By observing Mars' skies, NASA's Curiosity rover is obtaining data to help scientists gain a better understanding of the planet's atmospheric dynamics. Its observations are also being compared to that of NASA's InSight lander, which is exploring the Red Planet's surface about 373 miles (600 kilometers) away.

"Capturing the same clouds from two vantage points can help scientists calculate their altitude," NASA officials wrote in a description of the rover's Mars image.

After finishing its exploration of Mount Sharp in the Gale Crater, where it landed back in August 2012, the Curiosity rover is currently studying what NASA has been calling "the clay-bearing unit" due to the suspected presence of clay minerals.

And the Curiosity rover recently provided evidence of the clay minerals in the region, as shown in one of the newly released images from the probe. According to NASA's website, the rover found "the highest amounts of clay minerals ever found during the mission" at "Aberlady" and "Kilmarie."

These minerals are usually associated with liquid water, so the discovery of large amounts of it in the Gale Crater provides more weight to theories that it used to be a habitable region.

"It's likely that the rocks in the area formed as layers of mud in ancient lakes — something Curiosity also found lower on Mount Sharp," NASA officials wrote. "Water interacted with sediment over time, leaving an abundance of clay in the rocks there."

Meanwhile, NASA is also preparing to send another probe to the Red Planet next year. The Mars 2020 rover is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in July 2020 and is expected to touch down on the Red Planet at the Jezero Crater.