Tag: Gale Crater
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Curiosity discovers carbonate mineral, provides insight into disappearance of ancient atmosphere
NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been driving around the surface of Mars for over 12 years, recently discovered a mineral called siderite on the slopes of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. Interestingly, siderite might be the mineral that helps planetary scientists finally solve the mystery of where Mars’ carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere went. Solving such a…
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Curiosity discovers pure sulfur rocks, continues to explore Mount Sharp on Mars
On May 30, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover, currently exploring Gale Crater on the red planet, drove over a small rock on the Martian surface. The rock cracked open while driving over the rock, revealing its interior composition. Scientists on Curiosity’s team were stunned to find yellow sulfur crystals within the rock — the first time…
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After 11 years on Mars, Curiosity continues to climb the slopes of Mount Sharp
On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, comprised of the new Curiosity rover, officially began when Curiosity was successfully lowered onto the Martian surface via a first-of-its-kind skycrane. Curiosity‘s landing location was at the base of Mount Sharp (officially referred to as Aeolis Mons) in Gale Crater — a 3.5 billion-year-old crater that scientists believe was…
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Scientists resume use of Curiosity rover’s drill and internal lab instruments
NASA’s Curiosity rover successfully drilled a 2-inch-deep hole in a target called “Duluth” on May 20. It was the first rock sample captured by the drill since October 2016. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Using new drilling techniques after a stalled electrical motor halted sampling operations on Mars, the Curiosity rover has delivered rock powder to one of…
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Engineers hopeful Mars rover’s drill can return to service
File photo of the Curiosity rover’s turret of tools at the end of its robotic arm, as seen shortly after its landing on Mars in August 2012. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Engineers have started testing a new way to use the Curiosity rover’s drill to bore into Martian rocks after a motor in the device stalled late…
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Internal debris may be causing problem with Mars rover’s drill
File photo of Curiosity’s drill bit from Feb. 24, 2015. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Engineers suspect a piece of foreign object debris may be intermittently stalling a motor needed to place the Curiosity Mars rover’s drill bit onto rocks, and the robot’s ground team is assessing the source of the potential contamination. More importantly, Curiosity project manager…
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Mars rover’s drill out of action
The mast camera on the Curiosity rover captured this view of a butte standing about 16 feet (5 meters) above the vehicle Sept. 1, 2016, while the spacecraft was driving through the scenic “Murray Buttes” region on Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The rock-coring drill fixed to the end of the Curiosity rover’s robot arm has suspended…
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Oxygen finding strengthens case that Mars was once habitable
This scene shows NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at a location called “Windjana,” where the rover found rocks containing manganese-oxide minerals, which require abundant water and strongly oxidizing conditions to form. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS High concentrations of manganese oxides found in Martian rocks by NASA’s Curiosity rover indicate the red planet’s atmosphere once had much more oxygen…
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Mars rover steers toward active sand dunes
The dark band near the top of this Nov. 18 image from Curiosity’s navigation camera is part of the Bagnold Dunes. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The Curiosity rover’s next destination is a moving mound of wind-blown dark sand blanketing the base of Mount Sharp, the focal point of the Mars mission’s research, scientists said this week. It…
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Rover data suggest Mars crater once contained long-lived lake
This illustration depicts a lake of water partially filling Mars’ Gale Crater, receiving runoff from snow melting on the crater’s northern rim. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/MSSS Scientists analyzing imagery from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover believe sediments left by an ancient lake more than three billion years ago formed a towering mountain that is set to be…