![]() The clay minerals formed when lakes and streams once rippled across Gale Crater, depositing sediment at what is now the base of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain whose foothills Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. In fact, this transition may provide the record of a major shift in Mars’ climate billions of years ago that scientists are just beginning to understand. ![]() While the science team targeted the clay-rich region and the sulfate-laden one for evidence each can offer about Mars’ watery past, the transition zone is proving to be scientifically fascinating as well. Striking rock formations documented by the rover provide evidence of a drying climate in the Red Planet’s ancient past.įor the past year, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has been traveling through a transition zone from a clay-rich region to one filled with a salty mineral called sulfate. Dark boulders seen near the center are thought to have formed from sand deposited in ancient streams or ponds. NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view of a sulfate-bearing region using its Mastcam on May 2, 2022, the 3,462nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
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