Tag Archives: curiosity

Inspiring Space Images: Captivating Visuals That Have Sparked Curiosity Through the Ages

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James Webb Space Telescope Star Shade Prototype

Craig Cutler

Thames & Hudson

Space, the vast emptiness that captivates our imagination, has inspired an enduring fascination. In his compelling book, Space Journal: Art, Science, and Space Exploration, presenter Dallas Campbell curates iconic imagery that highlights the wonders of space exploration alongside intriguing details.

Among the most captivating visuals featured in Space Journal are recreations from a time when humanity’s understanding of the universe was limited, filled instead with imaginative guesses. A striking example includes a Belgian cover from H.G. Wells’ Space War from 1906, depicted below with a plundering tripod.

From H.G. Wells, La guerre des mondes (Brussels: L. Vandamme & Co., 1906)

However, astronomers began to expand their knowledge base shortly after. Around 1897, a pioneering telescope financed by industrialist Percival Lowell marked a significant breakthrough in observational astronomy, depicted below.

Percival Lowell Observing Through the Clark Telescope, Circa 1897

Courtesy of Lowell Observatory Archives, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Recently, the remarkable James Webb Space Telescope made headlines for its innovative design, which features intricate origami-style folding necessary for its launch—a prototype is displayed in the opening image.

Born just after NASA’s Apollo missions reshaped our understanding of the moon and space, Campbell embodying the impact of those journeys and the indelible marks astronauts left on the lunar surface.

View of the Moon

JSC/NASA

“On Earth, footprints may fossilize in rock or wash away quickly. However, on the Moon, they remain for eternity,” Campbell reflects. “The Sea of Tranquility harbors no current to erase them — these are the remnants of humanity’s first migration from Earth to another celestial body.”

Astronomy and Culture Along the Silk Road: Uzbekistan

Embark on an enthralling journey through Uzbekistan’s astronomical heritage, where rich scientific contributions and breathtaking landscapes intersect. Discover how astronomy influenced cultural exchanges along the Silk Road, linking Eurasia and beyond.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Curiosity Discovers Coral-Like Rocks on Mars

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On July 24, 2025, with 4,608 Mars Days, or Sols, into the mission, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a stunning image of a wind-shaped rock resembling coral formations in Gale Crater on Mars.

This image of Papsolok was captured on July 24, 2025, by Curiosity’s Mahli instrument. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

One of the rocks shaped by the wind was photographed by Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (Mahli), which is located on the end of the rover’s robotic arm.

“At the time this image was taken, it was known as Paposo, and the rock was roughly 5 cm (2 inches) from the Mahli,” a member of the Curiosity team stated.

On the same day, Curiosity observed another coral-like rock through a remote microimager, which is part of the ChemCam instrument.

This image of the wind-shaped rock was captured by Curiosity’s remote microimager on July 24, 2025. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

“Curiosity has identified many small features like these, which originated billions of years ago when liquid water existed on Mars,” the researchers noted.

“Minerals dissolved in water permeated the rock’s cracks, eventually drying and leaving behind hardened minerals.”

“Over years of wind erosion, surrounding rocks have been worn down, resulting in these distinctive shapes.”

“This natural process is commonly observed on Earth and also results in fascinating rock forms on Mars, including those that resemble flowers.”

Curiosity Rover took this selfie on October 11, 2019, at Glen Etive, where it drilled twice. Just to the left of the rover are two drill holes labeled Glen Etive 1 (right) and Glen Etive 2 (left). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Launched on November 26, 2011, Curiosity is the fourth rover the United States has dispatched to Mars.

The mission, overseen by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, involves nearly 500 scientists from the US and around the world.

Curiosity is exploring a 154 km (96 miles) wide crater and collecting rock, soil, and air samples for analysis.

The car-sized rover, comparable in height to a basketball player, utilizes its 2.1 m (7 feet) long arms to place tools near selected rocks for research.

Source: www.sci.news

The Curiosity Rover Uncovers Carbonate Minerals on Early Mars, Revealing the Carbon Cycle in Action

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NASA’s curiosity rover discovered evidence of the ancient Mars carbon cycle, bringing scientists closer to answers on whether the planet can support life.

Curiosity watches the track retreat in the distance on April 30, 2023 at a site called Ubajara. This site is where Rover discovered the Siderate. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Planetary researchers have long believed that Mars once had a thick carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere and liquid water on the surface of the planet.

That carbon dioxide and water should have reacted with Mars rocks to produce carbonate minerals.

However, to date, rover missions and near-infrared spectroscopy analysis from Mars orbit satellites have not discovered the amount of carbonate on the Earth’s surface predicted by this theory.

“We’ve seen a lot of experience in the world,” said Dr. Benjamin Tutoro, a researcher at the University of Calgary.

“The planet is habitable and shows that the model of habitability is correct.”

Using data collected by curiosity, Dr. Tutoro and his colleagues analyzed the composition of the 89 m stratigraphic section of Gail Crater, which once contained an ancient lake.

They identified high concentrations of iron carbonate minerals called siderelites in layers rich in magnesium sulfate, ranging from about 5% to over 10% by weight.

This was unexpected as orbital measurements had not detected carbonates in these layers.

Given its source and chemistry, the researchers speculate that the Seidelians, formed by the water rock reaction and evaporation, indicate that carbon dioxide has been chemically isolated from the Martian atmosphere to sedimentary rocks.

If the mineral composition of these sulfate layers represents a globally sulfate-rich region, these deposits contain large carbon reservoirs that were previously unrecognised.

The carbonate is partially destroyed by a later process, indicating that some of the carbon dioxide was later returned to the atmosphere, creating a carbon cycle.

“The discovery of abundant siderelites in Gale Crater represents both an astonishing and important breakthrough in understanding Mars’ geological and atmospheric evolution,” Dr. Tutoro said.

Dr. Thomas Bristow, a researcher at NASA’s Ames Research Center, added:

“A mere centimeters below gives us a good idea of ​​minerals that were formed on or near the surface about 3.5 billion years ago.”

Survey results It will be displayed in the journal Science.

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Benjamin M. Tsutoro et al. 2025. Carbonates identified by the curiosity rover show the carbon cycle operating on ancient Mars. Science 388 (6744): 292-297; doi: 10.1126/science.ado9966

Source: www.sci.news

Astounding Discovery: Curiosity Detects Long-Chain Carbon Molecules in Martian Mudstones

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Sample analysis of Mars Instrument on NASA’s Curiosity Rover detected decane, anteca and dodecane molecules in Gale Crater samples.

This graphic shows the long chain organic molecules, decane, undercane, dodecane, and rover of curiosity from NASA. Image credit: NASA/Dan Gallagher.

“The main scientific goal of Curiosity is to quantitatively assess the possibility of Mars’ habitability in the past or present,” says Dr. Caroline Freissinet, researcher at Atmosphères ET Observation Spatiales at CNRS and Laboratoire.

“Sample analysis in the MARS (SAM) instrument suite on a rover is dedicated to this task by employing inventory of organic and inorganic compounds present on the surface of Mars as potential chemical biosignatures and investigating the nature of the conservation.”

Using SAM instruments, researchers analyzed molecules released from excavated mudstone samples called Cumberlands, collected in Yellowknife Bay, the geological layer of Gale Crater.

They were able to detect three long chain alkanes: decane (c)10htwenty two), unedecane (c11htwenty four), and dodecan (c12h26).

“These long carbon chains, which contain up to 12 consecutive carbon atoms, can exhibit similar characteristics to the fatty acids produced on Earth through biological activity,” the researchers said.

Dodecane represents the highest molecular mass organic molecule ever identified on the surface of Mars.

“Detection of long-chain alkanes shows various causes of organic matter and storage mechanisms in Cumberland samples,” the scientists said.

“Clays and sulfate minerals are expected to play an important role in this long-term storage.”

According to the author, the source of Mars’ long-chain alkanes remains uncertain.

“Laboratory experiments support sources from the saturated forms of linear chains, primary carboxylic acids, i.e. decano acids, dodecano acids, and tridecano acids, for decane, undecano and dodecano acids, respectively,” they said.

“Abiotic processes can form these acids, but are considered to be a universal product of biochemistry, on the ground and perhaps Mars.”

“The origin and distribution of these molecules therefore has great interest in searching for potential biosignatures on Mars.”

Survey results It will be displayed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Caroline Freecinet et al. 2025. Long chain alkanes are preserved in the mudstones of Mars. pnas 122 (13): e2420580122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2420580122

Source: www.sci.news

Curiosity Rover Discovers Noctilucent Clouds in Mars Atmosphere

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New images and shows taken over 16 minutes by the Mastcam Instrument of NASA’s Curiosity Rover on January 17, 2025 Night or in twilight cloudsin the atmosphere of Mars. Sometimes these clouds create rainbows of color, creating rainbow clouds and mother clouds. If it is too faint to be visible in the daytime, the clouds will be particularly high and only visible when the evening falls.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnaqwu1wzm4

Mars clouds are made of either water ice or carbon dioxide ice at higher altitudes and lower temperatures.

The latter is the only kind of cloud observed on the red planet, producing rainbow colors, and can be seen near the top of the new image at an altitude of 60-80 km (37-50 miles).

It also appears that white feathers fall into the atmosphere on a low ride 50 km (31 miles) from the surface before evaporating due to rising temperatures.

Temporarily visible at the bottom of the image are water ice clouds moving in the opposite direction about 50 km of the curiosity rover.

This Curiosity/Mastcam image shows simultaneous clouds in the atmosphere of Mars. Image credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SSI.

“When I first saw these rainbow clouds, I always remember, but at first I was sure it was a few colour artifacts,” said the Atmospheric Scientist at the Institute of Space Science. said one Dr. Mark Lemon.

“It’s now predictable, so you can plan your shots ahead of time. Clouds appear at the exact same time.”

“Each sighting is an opportunity to learn more about the particle size and growth rates of Mars clouds, which will provide you with more information about the planet’s atmosphere.”

“The potential source of clouds can be gravitational waves, which can cool the atmosphere.”

“We weren’t expecting carbon dioxide to condense into ice here, so we’re cooling until something is likely to happen.”

“However, the gravitational waves on Mars are not fully understood, and we are not entirely aware of what the Twilight clouds are formed in one place and not elsewhere. “

Source: www.sci.news

Pure sulfur discovered on Mars by Curiosity

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Yellow crystals Elemental Sulfur According to the Curiosity team, the discoveries were made when NASA's Curiosity rover accidentally drove over a rock on May 30, 2024, breaking it apart.

Yellow crystals of elemental sulfur on Mars. Image courtesy of NASA.

Although sulfur may remind you of the smell of rotten eggs, elemental sulfur is odorless.

It forms only under a narrow range of conditions that scientists have not linked to the history of the place.

Curiosity then discovered lots of bright chunks of rock that looked similar to the rock the rover had crushed.

“Finding a rock block made of pure sulfur is like finding an oasis in the desert,” said Dr. Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity project scientist and a research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

“It can't be there, so now we have to explain it. Discovering strange and unexpected things is what makes planetary exploration so exciting.”

It was one of several Curiosity discovered while driving off-road through a channel in Gediz Canyon, a 5-kilometer (3-mile) groove that runs gently down part of Mount Sharp, where Curiosity has been climbing the base of the mountain since 2014.

The channel was discovered from space years before the rover launched and is one of the main reasons the science team wanted to visit this part of Mars.

Researchers believe the channel was carved out by flows of liquid water and debris, leaving a ridge of rock and sediment stretching for 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) on the mountainside below the channel.

The goal is to better understand how this landscape changed billions of years ago, and while recent clues are helping, there is still much to learn from this dramatic formation.

Since Curiosity arrived in the strait earlier this year, scientists have been studying whether a large pile of rubble that rose from the bottom of the strait was formed by an ancient flood or landslide.

The latest clues from the spacecraft suggest that both played a role: some mountains appear to have been left by powerful flows of water and debris, while others appear to be the result of more localized landslides.

These conclusions are based on the rocks found in the debris middens: while stones carried by water are rounded like river stones, some of the debris middens are littered with more angular rocks that appear to have been deposited by dry avalanches.

Eventually, water seeped into all the material that had settled here.

Chemical reactions caused by water have caused white “halo” shapes to appear on some of the rocks.

Erosion by wind and sand has revealed the shapes of these halos over the years.

“This has not been a quiet period for Mars,” said Dr. Becky Williams, a scientist at the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and deputy principal investigator for Curiosity's Mast Camera.

“There has been a lot of activity here. We're seeing multiple flows through the channel, including heavy flooding and rocky flows.”

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This article is a version of a press release provided by NASA.

Source: www.sci.news

Unexpected surprise: Giant fish thought to be sunbathing on Oregon beach turns out to be a curiosity

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The name “sunfish” is of Latin origin and means “milestone,” referring to the flat, circular body of this fish, which is known to drift along the ocean’s surface, a move some scientists lightly refer to as “sunbathing.”

But Nygard said the activity serves an important purpose: capturing jellyfish and other gelatinous creatures for prey.

When hunting, sunfish dive deep into cooler waters. Their bodies cannot regulate their body temperature efficiently, so they use the sun to warm themselves. While the fish lie on the surface, birds clean them by eating parasites from their skin.

Nyegaard said there are a few features that distinguish the giant sunfish from the giant sunfish: The giant sunfish’s skin becomes wrinkly as it grows, while the sunfish’s skin is always perfectly smooth.

Unlike normal fish, which have tails, sunfish have wings that are wavy and have a bony structure. The sunfish’s wings are divided into two parts, each of which can move independently.

“We don’t yet know why the two species need different rear structures,” Nygard says, adding that one theory is that the two-part flap could be for maneuvering or agility purposes.

Nygard said sunfish in general remain a mystery to scientists: There are five sunfish species in total, including the hoodwinker, and it’s unclear whether they can or will coexist in the same place.

It’s also unclear whether the hoodwinkers of Australia and New Zealand are related to those in the Pacific Northwest and have somehow migrated across the equator, Nygard said.

Since its discovery, people have been flocking to Gearhart Beach to see the lone hooded winker on the sand.

“This isn’t the first time this has been washed ashore, but it is the largest one to have been washed ashore,” said Tierney Thys, a marine biologist at the California Academy of Sciences.

“Strandings like this remind us that humans live on just 1 percent of the available habitable space on this vast ocean planet,” she said. “Encountering these amazing creatures is humbling and inspiring, and a powerful reminder that we still have much to learn.”

Source: www.nbcnews.com