UNITED STATES: Any space explorer who hopes to leave the planet and cross its orbit has long had Mars as their final destination. However, long before humanity stepped foot on this desolate planet, their machines had already seized control and carved their names and marks into the surface.
But Mars is not a simple thing to capture, just like every other body outside Earth’s orbit. Before the Curiosity rover could reach the ground, it had to survive a difficult re-entry through the atmosphere. It did last for ten years, and it did it with elegance.
The rover has travelled 29 kilometres and ascended approximately 2,050 feet since landing in the Gale crater on Mars ten years ago. According to Jet Propulsion Labratory (JPL), the rover has examined 41 rock and soil samples, using various scientific tools to determine what they can teach us about Earth’s rocky twin.
The rover has examined and analysed the Red Planet’s skies and the rock samples, taking pictures of the moons and sparkling clouds in motion. Future humans would be exposed to a certain level of high-energy radiation on the surface of Mars, according to the radiation sensor.
According to Curiosity, Gale Crater has been home to liquid water, chemical building components, and nutrients necessary for supporting life for at least tens of millions of years.
The sulfate-rich region of Ilha Novo Destino, which Curiosity initially discovered over seven years ago, is now being explored.
The Gediz Vallis channel, which may have developed during a flood late in Mount Sharp’s history, and massive cemented fractures that reveal the influence of groundwater further up the mountain are two areas the rover plans to explore within it.
“There is proof that the climate on Mars in the past underwent significant shifts. It is currently unknown if the livable circumstances that Curiosity has discovered so far survived these transitions. Did they leave the area forever, or did they come and depart over the course of millions of years? As they prepare the rover for the following stage of its Martian mission,” Curiosity’s project scientist, Ashwin Vasavada, said.
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