As three probes head for Mars, Curiosity nears eighth anniversary on red planet

As three probes head for Mars, Curiosity nears eighth anniversary on red planet
By Astronomy Now

With three probes on their way to Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover will celebrate its eighth year on Mars 6 August as it continues to explore the lower regions of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. This frame from a panorama captured on 13 October 2019 shows Mount Sharp in morning sunlight. Click on the image to view the entire panorama and click again for the full high-resolution view, scrolling as needed to take it all in. Curiosity landed on Mars in 2012 and has collected data showing the environment in Gale Crater, at least, was habitable in the distant past. NASA’s Perseverance rover will land in Jezero Crater next February to search for signs of past microbial life. The Hope orbiter, built by the United Arab Emirates and currently on its way to Mars, will slip into orbit that same month as will China’s Tianwen-1 probe. The Chinese mission features an orbiter and a rover, which is expected to descend to the surface a few months after arrival.

The lower slopes of Mount Sharp are made up of material deposited during a period when Mars was a much warmer and wetter world than it is today. As the Curiosity rover continues its slow climb up the towering mound, it may cross the transition zone where the environment began changing, resulting in the cold, arid world seen today. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

August 4, 2020 at 08:32PM
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