Mars
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NASA
NASA’s Mars Spacecraft Capture Images of Comet 3I/ATLAS
Two orbiters and a rover captured images of the interstellar object — from the closest location any of the agency’s spacecraft may get — that could reveal new details. At the start of October, three of NASA’s Mars spacecraft had front row seats to view 3I/ATLAS, only the third interstellar object so far discovered in our solar system. The Mars…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4716-4722: Drilling Success at Nevado Sajama
Written by Michelle Minitti, MAHLI Deputy Principal Investigator at Framework Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 14, 2025 From Curiosity’s ridge-top perch among the boxwork unit, the highlight of the week was the successful drilling of the “Nevado Sajama” target. The data collected by APXS, ChemCam, and MAHLI from the rover workspace and its immediate vicinity gave the team confidence to…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4709-4715: Drilling High and Low in the Boxwork Unit
Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 7, 2025 We are in the most intensive phase of the boxwork structures investigation — the drill campaign. The boxwork campaign group requested a pair of drilled targets — one in a hollow (the topographic low) and one on…
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Press Releases
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4702-4708: It’s Only Spooky Here on Earth Today!
By Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, U.K. Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 31, 2025 I am writing this blog and it’s still daytime — and I am looking forward to accompanying one of my favorite kids to trick-and-treating afterwards. That’s a new feeling for me because I am usually in the U.K., which means…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4695-4701: Searching for Answers at Monte Grande
Written by William Farrand, Senior Research Scientist, Space Science Institute Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 24, 2025 Curiosity has successfully drilled its 44th hole on Mars, which is a major milestone in our investigation of the enigmatic “boxwork unit,” a region of resistant ridges surrounding pits or “hollows” of less-resistant rock. The drilling took place over the past weekend within the…
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NASA
NASA, Blue Origin Launch Two Spacecraft to Study Mars, Solar Wind
A pair of NASA spacecraft ultimately destined for Mars will study how its magnetic environment is impacted by the Sun. The mission also will help the agency prepare for future human exploration of Mars. NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft launched at 3:55 p.m. EST, Thursday, aboard a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket from Launch Complex…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4682-4688: Seven Mars Years
Written by Diana Hayes, Graduate Student at York University, Toronto Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 This week was one of seasonal changes and milestones for the mission. As was mentioned several weeks ago, Mars has now moved out of its “cloudy season” and is transitioning into the “dusty season” as the planet moves closer to the Sun. This means…
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NASA
A Stranger in Our Midst?
Written by Candice Bedford, Research Scientist at Purdue University Oct. 1, 2025 During the rover’s recent investigation of the bedrock at “Vernodden,” Perseverance encountered an unusually shaped rock about 80 centimeters across (about 31 inches) called “Phippsaksla.” This rock was identified as a target of interest based on its sculpted, high-standing appearance that differed from that of the low-lying, flat…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4668-4674: Winding Our Way Along
Written by Alex Innanen, Atmospheric Scientist at York University Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 26, 2025 We are continuing through the boxwork region, taking a twisty-turny path along the ridges (many of which are conveniently Curiosity-sized). One thing we’re keeping an eye out for is our next drill location in one of the hollows. Our most recent drive put us…
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NASA
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4661-4667: Peaking Into the Hollows
By Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2025 Curiosity is currently driving along the ridges of a very uneven terrain. One of the bigger ridges we nicknamed “Autobahn,” which is the German word for a highway. But the rover didn’t stay on that autobahn, now more officially named…
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