Abstract In this paper we calculate the effect of atmospheric dust on the orbital elements of a satellite. Dust storms that originate in the Martian surface may evolve into global storms in the atmosphere that can last for months can affect low orbiter and lander missions. We model the dust as a velocity-square depended drag force acting on a satellite and we derive an appropriate disturbing function that accounts for the effect of dust on the orbit, using a Lagrangean formulation. A first-order perturbation solution of Lagrange's planetary equations of motion indicates that for a local dust storm cloud that has a possible density of 8.323×10−10 kg m−3 at an altitude of 100 km affects the orbital semimajor axis of a 1000 kg satellite up −0.142 m day−1. Regional dust storms of the same density may affect the semimajor axis up to of −0.418 m day−1. Other orbital elements are also affected but to a lesser extent.