The rover began exploring the Marker Band feature - which was found to have thin, hard rocks covering the surface is a scalelike pattern - in 2022.Ĭuriosity has attempted to extract samples from some of the rocks, but they proved too hard for the rover’s drill, according to NASA. Specifically, the rocks were discovered in what’s called the Marker Band Valley, a zigzag formation of rocks that stands out against the landscape, thanks to its darker coloring. NASA orbiter captures image of a bear's face on Mars Scientists consider the sulfate-bearing unit to be a location rife with clues about how and why Mars morphed from a watery planet into the frozen place it is today, and researchers have long sought to explore the area in more depth. The sulfate-bearing unit is a region previously identified by the Mars Reconaissance Orbiter as containing salty mineral deposits just beneath an 18,000-foot (5,500-meter) mountain called Mount Sharp. “We climbed through thousands of feet of lake deposits and never saw evidence like this - and now we found it in a place we expected to be dry.” “This is the best evidence of water and waves that we’ve seen in the entire mission,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, in a statement. Instead, the rover found some of the clearest evidence yet of ancient waters. The rover is traversing an area of Mars called the “sulfate-bearing unit” that researchers previously thought would only show evidence of mere trickles of water, as scientists believed the rocks there formed as the surface of the red planet was drying out. NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took this self-portrait on May 11, 2016, at the "Okoruso" drilling site on the "Naukluft Plateau" in the foothills of Mount Sharp.In the foothills of a Martian mountain, NASA’s Curiosity rover found stunning new evidence of an ancient lake in the form of rocks etched with the ripples of waves - and the telltale signs appeared in an unlikely place. Related: A brief history of Mars missions Here we celebrate 10 years of Curiosity by taking a look at some of Curiosity's best images of Mars. For the latest news about the mission, follow 's Curiosity Mars Rover coverage.Ĭuriosity has faced myriad challenges during its time on Mars, from computer glitches to drill malfunctions, orientation trouble and extensive damage to its wheels, but the robust rover keeps bouncing back and continues to investigate the Martian environment to this day. ![]() During its travels, Curiosity has unearthed extensive evidence of past water and geological change as well as shifts in climate. If you want to see where the rover is right now, check out NASA's where is the rover feature. ![]() ![]() ![]() This landing technique was a roaring success that NASA repeated in February 2021 when the Perseverance rover arrived on Mars.įor a decade, Curiosity has journeyed across the Red Planet, from Gale Crater to Aeolis Mons. 5, 2012. Since then, Curiosity has trundled across the Martian landscape searching for signs of life and learning about Mars' unique environment.Ĭuriosity's trailblazing landing saw the spacecraft descend on a parachute before its landing system fired up its rockets to hover as the rover was lowered down to the surface using the sky crane. 26, 2011, landing on Mars eight months and 10 days later, on Aug. NASA's Curiosity rover launched aboard an Atlas V rocket on Nov.
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