NASA Curiosity rover shares new Mars selfie
- 5 years ago
MARS — NASA's Curiosity rover is on the move again, but it didn't leave without posting a cheeky selfie on its Twitter account.
According to NASA's latest update, the Mars Curiosity Rover has left the Vera Rubin Ridge and descended toward a clay Region of Mount Sharp, a 5.5 kilometers tall mountain in Mars.
The rover will be exploring the mountain's "clay-bearing unit" at the south of the Vera Rubin Ridge. The mission team believes the minerals in this area will help them understand lake formations that contributed to the shape of the lower levels of Mount Sharp.
As of December 2018, the Curiosity Rover has drilled and collected nineteen samples of Martian sediments. The latest sample was collected in an area of the Vera Rubin Ridge called Rock Hall.
Curiosity first landed on Mars in August 2012 and has since been snapping selfies and collecting data to complete its main mission: finding out if Mars could host microbial life and determine whether or not there ever were forms of life on the Red Planet.
New Atlas reports NASA's second rover on the Red Planet, Opportunity, lost contact with its team after a global sand storm blocked out the sun for several days in May 2018. Opportunity is powered by solar power and the lack of sunlight forced the rover to shut down after its batteries were drained.
NASA has since tried to contact Opportunity over 600 times using various radio commands to no avail.
According to NASA's latest update, the Mars Curiosity Rover has left the Vera Rubin Ridge and descended toward a clay Region of Mount Sharp, a 5.5 kilometers tall mountain in Mars.
The rover will be exploring the mountain's "clay-bearing unit" at the south of the Vera Rubin Ridge. The mission team believes the minerals in this area will help them understand lake formations that contributed to the shape of the lower levels of Mount Sharp.
As of December 2018, the Curiosity Rover has drilled and collected nineteen samples of Martian sediments. The latest sample was collected in an area of the Vera Rubin Ridge called Rock Hall.
Curiosity first landed on Mars in August 2012 and has since been snapping selfies and collecting data to complete its main mission: finding out if Mars could host microbial life and determine whether or not there ever were forms of life on the Red Planet.
New Atlas reports NASA's second rover on the Red Planet, Opportunity, lost contact with its team after a global sand storm blocked out the sun for several days in May 2018. Opportunity is powered by solar power and the lack of sunlight forced the rover to shut down after its batteries were drained.
NASA has since tried to contact Opportunity over 600 times using various radio commands to no avail.