NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars has finally reached the Gediz Vallis Ridge, a challenging location on the Red Planet.
This achievement of NASA’s Curiosity rover provides valuable insights into Mars’ ancient wet conditions.
Scientists believe that billions of years ago, when Mars was wetter, debris flows carried mud and boulders down Mount Sharp, forming a fan-like structure. Over time, wind erosion shaped this debris into a tall ridge.
Geologist William Dietrich said that the discovery of NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars will help scientists gain a better understanding of similar events on both Mars and Earth, where they pose a natural hazard.
NASA’s Curiosity rover reached its target on August 14, after 3,923 Martian days. NASA’s Curiosity rover’s Mastcam captured 136 individual images of the site, which were then combined to create a 360-degree panorama.
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NASA’s Curiosity rover has successfully reached the Gediz Vallis Ridge on Mars after overcoming several obstacles.
NASA’s Curiosity rover had difficulties scaling the Greenheugh Pediment, and encountered knife-edged gator-back rocks that were the hardest type of rock it had encountered on Mars.
NASA’s Curiosity rover also struggled to exit the Marker Band Valley, likened to a slip-and-slide.
NASA’s Curiosity rover will now continue its mission to study the watery history of Mars’ Mount Sharp.
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