Curiosity rover begins its ‘summer season outing’ to next Martian destination

In barely about a weeks’ time, the Perseverance rover and its helicopter accomplice would perhaps per chance well blast off to home and salvage their technique to Mars. That doesn’t point out Curiosity will no longer be within the describe, even though — in reality, the older rover has fair started its mile-long summer season trip towards its next destination. The Curiosity rover’s next stop is Mount Intelligent’s “sulfate-bearing unit.” Since, right here on Earth, sulfates most continuously make spherical water as it evaporates, the files the rover gathers would perhaps per chance well give us a clue on how the Martian local weather and its possibilities for lifestyles has changed over the final 3 billion years.

Curiosity has been investigating Mount Intelligent’s clay-rich ambiance since early 2019, offering files to scientists taking a look into whether or now not the pale watery ambiance would perhaps per chance have faith supported pale microbes. The rover is now leaving that clay-rich ambiance within the help of. So as to reach its just, even though, it has to drive spherical a patch of sand to e-book clear of getting stuck.