{"id":24224,"date":"2023-08-05T21:09:26","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T13:09:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/after-11-years-on-mars-curiosity-continues-to-climb-the-slopes-of-mount-sharp\/"},"modified":"2023-08-05T21:09:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T13:09:26","slug":"after-11-years-on-mars-curiosity-continues-to-climb-the-slopes-of-mount-sharp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/after-11-years-on-mars-curiosity-continues-to-climb-the-slopes-of-mount-sharp\/","title":{"rendered":"After 11 years on Mars, Curiosity continues to climb the slopes of Mount Sharp"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA\u2019s Mars Science Laboratory mission, comprised of the new Curiosity <\/em>rover, officially began when Curiosity<\/em> was successfully lowered onto the Martian surface via a first-of-its-kind skycrane. Curiosity<\/em>\u2018s landing location was at the base of Mount Sharp (officially referred to as Aeolis Mons) in Gale Crater \u2014 a 3.5 billion-year-old crater that scientists believe was once a lake.<\/p>\n

In the 11 years since its historic landing, Curiosity <\/em>has explored Gale Crater extensively, collecting data on Martian soil, rock formations, weather, and more. In September 2014, after exploring its landing region, named Aeolis Palus, and completing an eight-kilometer trek to the base of Mount Sharp, Curiosity<\/em> began climbing up the slopes of Mount Sharp. Every day since then, the rover has continued to slowly creep toward the top of Mount Sharp and has made scientific discoveries that will change planetary science and astrobiology forever.<\/p>\n

Curiosity<\/em> and its team will celebrate its 11th anniversary by doing what the rover does best: exploring Mars. Throughout the last several weeks, Curiosity<\/em> explored a region of Mount Sharp called \u201cJau.\u201d The region is covered with dozens and dozens of small impact craters that Curiosity<\/em> and its team had to carefully navigate.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The number of craters within Jau made the region an area of interest for Curiosity<\/em> scientists. Planetary scientists rarely get the opportunity to view so many craters up-close and are eager to learn more about what the region was like when liquid water freely flowed on Mars. As mentioned, Gale Crater was once thought to be a lake, and given that Mount Sharp sits at the center of the crater, scientists also believe that the five-kilometer-tall Mount Sharp was covered with hundreds of rivers, streams, ponds, and more.<\/p>\n

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Curiosity\u2019s view of Mount Sharp on Sept. 20, 2012. (Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS)<\/p>\n

While scientists were eager to explore and learn more about Jau and its links to ancient Mars, Jau was just a pit-stop for the rover as it continued to make its way up Mount Sharp. Curiosity<\/em>\u2018s climb up Mount Sharp is extremely impressive given the rover\u2019s age and condition, but it certainly hasn\u2019t been without its challenges.<\/p>\n

The route Curiosity<\/em> has been following up Mount Sharp over the last few months has been the most difficult climb the rover has faced yet. As Curiosity continues to climb higher and higher up the mountain, slopes begin to get steeper and the Martian terrain becomes more jagged and dangerous. Due to this, Curiosity<\/em> and its team have had to be extra careful with the routes they take. Throughout May and June, Curiosity<\/em> climbed a slope that featured a 23-degree incline, slippery sand, and rocks the size of Curiosity<\/em>\u2018s wheels.<\/p>\n

While the climb up Mount Sharp has certainly been difficult for Curiosity<\/em>, the climb has also brought with it a great deal of stress for the scientists that operate Curiosity<\/em> back on Earth.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever tried running up a sand dune on a beach \u2013 and that\u2019s essentially what we were doing \u2013 you know it\u2019s hard, but there were boulders in there as well,\u201d said Curiosity<\/em> rover \u201cdriver\u201d Amy Hale of NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n