In coming weeks, Curiosity will begin to climb this slope. In the image, north is on the left and west is on the right, with Gale Crater's rim on the horizon of both edges.
Poking up just behind Curiosity's mast is Mount Sharp, photobombing the robot's selfie. When Curiosity landed on Mars five years ago, the team's intention was to study lower Mount Sharp, where the rover will remain for all of its time on Mars.
The mountain's base provides access to layers formed over millions of years. These layers formed in the presence of water - likely due to a lake or lakes where sediments accumulated, which formed these layers inside Gale Crater.
The mosaic was assembled from dozens of images taken by Curiosity's Mars Hands Lens Imager (MAHLI). They were all taken on Jan. 23, 2018, during Sol 1943.
For news about other Mars missions this month, view the first episode of a new video series, "The Mars Report."
| Buy Advertising | About Us | Editorial & Other Enquiries | Privacy statement |
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, is Copyright 1995-2026 Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principles for news reporting and research purposes. |
