NASA shares panoramic views of Mars recorded by Curiosity as it climbed a mountain

Posted:

23 before 2021 13:12 GMT

The probe is currently located between an area rich in clay minerals and one dominated by salty minerals called sulfates.

On the ninth anniversary of the Curiosity rover’s arrival to Mars, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has diffuse Surface images of a region of the Red Planet recorded by that rover.

Curiosity captured this panoramic photo on July 3 at Mars Day 3,167 From his mission, as he ascended to Mount Sharp 8000 meters High, which is located inside the Gale crater basin, 154 kilometers wide. Thanks to the fact that in the area where the rover is Now winter, the sky is relatively dust-free, giving a clearer view of the crater.

According to the US space agency, the probe is currently somewhere between An area rich in clay minerals And one dominated by salty minerals called sulfates. The layers of Mount Sharp can reveal how ancient the environment inside the crater is The storm has dried up over time. Similar changes are observed across the Red Planet.

Purpose of curiosity

“The The rocks here will begin to reveal us How was this once wet planet turned into today’s dry Mars, and for how long habitable environments “After that happened, it happened,” said Curiosity’s deputy project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Abigail Freeman.

curiosity Origin to Mars in August 2012 to study whether Different environments of Mars It could support microbial life in the planet’s ancient past, when There were lakes and groundwater Inside Gale hole.

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