The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) rover, Curiosity, has completed 3,000 Martian days or solos on the red planet. Curiosity arrived on Mars on August 6, 2012. At the end of this stage, the space agency shared an official note mentioning the discoveries that Curiosity has made so far.
In the note, NASA mentioned that Curiosity made quite a few discoveries as it gradually climbed Mount Sharp. Explore the 5-kilometer-high mountain in 2014. One of the photos that came through Curiosity shocked scientists, as it showed a series of stone “benches” in the latest panorama of the mission. On November 18 last year, a total of 122 photos taken by Curiosity were sewn together from the 2946 soil of the mission. The series of stunning photos was clicked by Mast Camera or Mastcam, which is considered to be the eyes of the rover.
The note mentions that the curved rock terraces you see in the pictures can form when there are harder and softer layers of rock on a slope. To explain how this happens, the agency said that when the softer layers begin to erode, the harder layers form small rocks. This process leaves behind some bank-type formations. These formations can also occur during a landslide.
Ashwin Vasavada, a scientist for the project, Curiosity, Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NASA said: “Our science team is excited to learn how they formed and what they mean for the ancient environment of Gale.”
Previously, this rover accomplished quite a few things, such as finding evidence that the red planet once had persistent liquid water and discovered that the planet was once suitable for life. Moreover, he also found that organic carbon molecules, the building blocks of life, are also available on Mars. The rover was also able to send evidence of methane present and active in Mars’ atmosphere; it also detected radiation levels that could be hazardous to human health. One thing he assured her was that Mars’ atmosphere was much thicker in the past than it is today.
In the meantime, Curiosity will soon get a company on Mars. The space agency will send another rover called “Perseverance” in February this year. The main purpose of this rover will be to bring samples from Mars back to Earth. This mission will also be the first round-trip mission to another planet.