After taking this and other images, Curiosity carefully. This robotic rover has now been rolling across Mars for ten years and has helped uncover many details of the wet and windy past of Earth's planetary neighbor. While this is no doubt an impressive feat of endurance, Curiosity is yet to surpass the marathon efforts of the Opportunity rover, which was designed to last just 90 Martian days and travel around 3,300 feet after landing on Mars in 2004.īut Opportunity just kept on going and its mission was finally declared over in February 2019 after failing to communicate with Earth following a severe dust storm.īy this time the rover had surpassed all expectations, surviving for more than 60 times its life expectancy and travelling more than 28 miles. The featured image capturing several hills covered with flat-topped rocks was taken last month by NASA's Curiosity Rover on Mars. Curiosity's primary mission was due to last just 23 months, but the rover continues to work nearly a decade later. NASA's Mars rovers have a habit of exceeding their initial planned operation times. New Netflix K-Drama 'The Silent Sea'-Cast and Plot Revealedīy studying images of Mars' clouds, scientists can understand how they form on Mars and why some are different to others.Where James Webb Space Telescope Is Now and When It Will Reach Destination.5 Takeaways From Elon Musk's Long-Awaited Starship Update.The space agency described the Martian clouds as "wispy puffs filled with ice crystals that scattered light from the setting Sun, some of them shimmering with color." In May 2021, NASA released images of "shining clouds" taken by the rover in March of that year. It's not the first time that Curiosity has photographed clouds on Mars. Mars is a cold, inhospitable planet with an average temperature of around -81 degrees Fahrenheit, and an atmosphere largely composed of carbon dioxide with some water vapor. Scientists should also be able to calculate how fast the clouds are moving, though NASA did not disclose a figure. By comparing the two perspectives, scientists were able to calculate that the clouds were around 50 miles high and were probably made out of carbon dioxide ice due to the extremely low temperatures at that altitude. The presence of clouds on Mars does not mean liquid water, however. It's thought the clouds are mainly composed of frozen carbon dioxide. NASA/JPL-Caltech/York University Another angle of the clouds on Mars, as seen by the Curiosity rover. The Curiosity rover has been on Mars since 2012. Clouds on Mars, seen by the Curiosity rover on December 12th, 2021. Taken from two different perspectives, one of the videos shows the clouds passing directly overhead while the other shows the clouds passing over the landscape. Taken some time apart, the images have been stitched together to form two eight-frame videos. The images, taken using Curiosity's navigation camera, are snapshots of Mars' clouds. Last week, NASA released new images from Curiosity that were taken in mid-December last year at a time when the rover was more than 3,300 Martian days into its ongoing mission. China Wants to Build Moonbase as Part of Plan to Become 'Space Power'.4 Records NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Broke in Its First Year on Mars.Fact Check: Does Mars Photo Show Crater Full of Water Ice?.
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