Latest news with #MastCamera
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's Curiosity rover takes a closer look at 'spiderwebs' on Mars
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For over a decade, NASA's Curiosity rover has been capturing images of Mars as scientists continue to study the planet's structures and surface. Curiosity's goal as it travels across Mars is to look for unique signs of life, including signs of possible ancient life on the planet. Curiosity captured this 360-degree image after traveling to an area full of low ridges called boxwork patterns. These patterns look like spiderwebs, as NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter saw in 2006. Since its arrival on Mars from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station via an Atlas V rocket in 2012, Curiosity has been exploring the surface of the Red Planet, including these low ridges. In the middle of the photo, Curiosity's tracks can be seen as its wheels its way across the dust. Curiosity took this photo at the base of Mount Sharp, a 3 mile (5 km) tall mountain within Mars' Gale Crater. In the far distance of the image to the right is the "Texoli" butte, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This panorama image was created by combining 291 images from Curiosity's Mast Camera, or Mastcam, taken over three days in mid-May 2025, according to JPL. The boxwork pattern Curiosity captured is of particular interest to astronomers because its ridges were created by ancient groundwater flowing across Mars surface. The minerals in this groundwater helped harden the surface, and after thousands of years of being sandblasted by atmospheric winds, low ridges appeared at the foot of Mount Sharp. While this ancient groundwater eventually disappeared from the planet entirely, astronomers believe it might have had nutrients to sustain ancient microbes. Using rovers like Curiosity, astronomers can get samples to determine whether there was life on Mars at some point in the planet's past. You can read more about ancient Martian water and NASA's rovers as astronomers continue to study the red planet.
NDTV
24-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Curiosity Examines Spiderweb-Like Boxwork Pattern On Mars. Here's Why It's Significant
NASA's Curiosity rover, which is currently roaming Mars looking for signs of life, recently captured an intriguing picture, showcasing a fascinating boxwork pattern. The photo was taken by the rover's Mast Camera (or Mastcam) on May 16, 2025. "NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree view after arriving at a region crisscrossed by hardened low ridges called boxwork patterns," NASA said in a blog post published on June 23. Boxwork patterns on Mars are fascinating geological formations that resemble spiderwebs or honeycombs. Scientists were captivated by these patterns even before Curiosity's 2012 landing on the Red Planet. Scientists believe that these structures are composed of hardened, low ridges of minerals that have been left behind after groundwater erosion billions of years ago. NASA said that the minerals left behind by the water hardened like cement within the rock, which was carved away after abrasive blasting by wind. The process revealed networks of resistant ridges within. The Curiosity rover has been studying these formations in the Gale Crater, which is believed to have once hosted lakes and water activity. "Since 2014, Curiosity has been exploring the foothills of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometre-tall) mountain within the crater," the post added. Here's why this pattern is important Curiosity has been learning about the Red Planet's unique environment, and the boxwork patterns suggest that groundwater played a significant role in shaping the planet's surface. These formations could hold clues to Mars' past habitability and potential for supporting life. Scientists believe that the minerals forming the Martian boxwork likely crystallised under conditions similar to those on Earth that supported early microbial life.
