Despite signs of wear, the intrepid spacecraft is about to start an exhilarating new chapter of its mission as it climbs a Martian mountain. Ten years ago, on August 5, 2012, a jetpack lowered NASA’s Curiosity rover onto the Red Planet. This was the beginning of the SUV-size explorer’s pursuit of
But most significantly, Curiosity has found that liquid water, as well as the chemical building blocks and nutrients needed for supporting life, were present for at least tens of millions of years in Gale Crater. The crater once held a lake, the size of which waxed and waned over time. This means that each layer higher up on Mount Sharp serves as a record of a more recent era of Mars’ environment.
“We’re seeing evidence of dramatic changes in the ancient Martian climate,” said Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “The question now is whether the habitable conditions that Curiosity has found up to now persisted through these changes. Did they disappear, never to return, or did they come and go over millions of years?”
The Curiosity team plans to spend the next few years exploring the sulfate-rich area. Within it, they have targets in mind like the Gediz Vallis channel, which may have formed during a flood late in Mount Sharp’s history, andThis scene was captured by Curiosity on September 9, 2015, when NASA’s Mars rover was many miles from its current location. The circle indicates the location of a Curiosity-size boulder that the rover recently drove past.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
Mars Curiosity rover celebrates 10 year landing anniversary | Digital TrendsToday NASA's Curiosity rover celebrates 10 years on the red planet, and it's still going strong.
Consulte Mais informação »
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover hails its 'dusty dozen' | Digital TrendsNASA's Perseverance Mars rover has pointed the way to a special website where you can learn more about all of the rock and soil samples it's collected to date.
Consulte Mais informação »
The Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years. Here's what we've learned.'We're still able to do the same quality and breadth of science that we were 10 years ago, and that's pretty extraordinary.'
Consulte Mais informação »
Tested: 2022 Land Rover Defender 90 V8 Is Senseless FunRevel in the silliness that is a 518-hp two-door Land Rover Defender.
Consulte Mais informação »
How Mars rovers have evolved in 25 years of exploring the Red PlanetToday marks Curiosity's 10th year of cruising around Mars. It's just one of the robot explorers that have told us most of what we know about Mars.
Consulte Mais informação »