MAHLI
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4947-4953: Gale Crater Then and Now
Written by Alex Innanen, Atmospheric Scientist at York University, Toronto Earth planning date: Friday, July 10, 2026 Curiosity had a successful long weekend and came into this week ready to explore some more. We’ve been moving fairly rapidly through different mapped “units,” or distinct geological areas of interest, visiting a different one at each of our three stops this week.…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4600-4601: Up and Over the Sand Covered Ramp
Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Monday, July 14, 2025 The Curiosity rover continues to navigate through the region of Mount Sharp characterized by the boxwork terrain. After successfully completing a drive of about 34 meters over the weekend (about 112 feet), the rover parked near the edge…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4597-4599: Wide Open Spaces
Written by Michelle Minitti, MAHLI Deputy Principal Investigator, Framework Earth planning date: Friday, July 11, 2025 Imagine this vista as the view out your office window to start your workday. Your natural tendency would be to grab your camera and photograph as much of the view as possible. Curiosity was lucky enough to find herself in this situation today after…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sol 4588: Ridges and troughs
Written by Lucy Thompson, APXS Collaborator and Senior Research Scientist at the University of New Brunswick, CanadaEarth planning date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025As we traverse the boxwork terrain, we are encountering a series of more resistant ridges/bedrock patches, and areas that are more rubbly and tend to form lower relief polygonal or trough-like features. We came into planning this morning…
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NASA
Sols 4561-4562: Prepping to Drill at Altadena
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image of a recent DRT (Dust Removal Tool) site, showing off the marks created in the rocks by DRT — a motorized, wire-bristle brush on the turret at the end of the rover’s robotic arm — as well as a whitish vein that was revealed after the dust covering it was removed. Curiosity acquired…
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NASA
Sols 4511-4512: Low energy after a big weekend?
Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center Earth planning date: Monday, April 14, 2025 We all know the feeling: it’s Monday morning after a big weekend and you’re coming into the week wishing you’d had a little more time to rest and recharge. Well, Curiosity probably feels the same way today. Curiosity accomplished a lot over…
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NASA
Sols 4505-4506: Up, up and onto the Devil’s Gate
Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Earth planning date: Monday, April 7, 2025 Over the weekend, we completed our drive up the steep side of a canyon, up onto “Devil’s Gate,” a small butte which forms part of the ridge along the top of the canyon and now we can see down into the next canyon. It is always true that…
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NASA
Sols 4502-4504: Sneaking Past Devil’s Gate
Written by Michelle Minitti, Planetary Geologist at Framework Earth planning date: Friday, April 4, 2025 We continue to make progress driving up Mount Sharp, each day gaining new perspectives on the spectacular, towering buttes surrounding our path. To get to the next canyon we can ascend, we have to swing around the north end of a small ridgeline, “Devil’s Gate,”…
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NASA
Sols 4386-4388: Powers of Ten
Earth planning date: Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 We successfully arrived in our new exploration quadrangle — the Altadena quad — which is named after a town on Earth very near our own Jet Propulsion Laboratory! The names from this quad will recognize the incredible interaction between Altadena and its surrounding environs with the San Andreas and other major faults, which led…
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NASA
Sols 4368-4369: The Colors of Fall – and Mars
Earth planning date: Monday, Nov. 18, 2024 I am in the U.K., where we are approaching the time when trees are just branches and twigs. One tree that still has its full foliage is my little quince tree in my front garden. Its leaves have turned reddish-brown with a hint of orange, fairly dark by now, and when I passed…
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