Curiosity Has Now Been on Mars For 7 Years, So Right here Are 7 Wonderful Issues It Has Seen

On 6 August 2012, after an epic six-month journey, NASA rover Curiosity lastly arrived at her new dwelling on Mars. This week marks seven Earth years since landing, and we’re celebrating Curiosity’s Touchdown Day with a few of the marvels it has introduced us.

It is an remoted existence for the little rover, on their own within the Gale Crater. Actually, it is the one energetic rover on the whole planet, after Alternative, which lasted 15 years, was declared misplaced to a monster storm earlier this yr (InSight is a non-mobile lander, not a rover).

Curiosity is having a tremendous run, although. The nuclear-powered rover was solely deliberate for a two-year mission, but it surely was doing so nicely that the mission was granted an indefinite extension in December 2012.

To this point, it has wandered 21 kilometres (13 miles) throughout the Gale Crater, climbed 368 metres (1,207 toes) up the bottom of Mount Sharp. In these travels, Curiosity has laid its robotic eyes on sights no human has ever seen, tasted the soil and wind of Mars, and despatched dwelling a treasure trove of knowledge.

It is Curiosity’s seventh Touchdown Day, so listed below are seven superb issues it has proven us about Mars.

Liquid water on Mars!

We are actually fairly snug with the thought of liquid water on Mars, however again in 2013, it was an enormous deal. Curiosity found what turned out to be a dried-up streambed – the primary time such gravel had ever been recognized on Mars. This was adopted by the revelation that the Gale Crater was as soon as an enormous lake – and, lastly, that there could also be liquid water on Mars even to today.

Different orbiting devices have additionally discovered proof for this, difficult our notion of Mars as a dusty previous desert – and providing attention-grabbing implications for our future makes an attempt to colonise.

An entire purchasing listing of life substances

One of many very earliest findings Curiosity made is that Mars may as soon as have been hospitable to microbial life. In samples drilled from the bedrock, scientists recognized sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and carbon. These are a few of the key chemical substances for constructing DNA.

Mixed with the moist setting Mars as soon as had, it appears fairly liveable, based mostly on what we all know of life on Earth.

“A elementary query for this mission is whether or not Mars may have supported a liveable setting,” stated NASA’s Michael Meyer. “From what we all know now, the reply is sure.” Eeeeek.

Boron, not boring

Curiosity was the primary to establish the mineral boron on Mars, in a mineral vein embedded within the rock because it began climbing Mount Sharp.

That is thrilling as a result of the probably clarification, based mostly on what we have seen in Earth’s desert boron deposits, is that the boron was laid there by an evaporative course of; that’s, it was dissolved in liquid water that was at temperatures between zero and 60 levels Celsius and has since dried up.

That is a liveable temperature – and the water would have been round for a very long time. That is nonetheless not the identical as direct proof of microbes, but it surely’s one other piece drawing Mars just a bit bit nearer to habitability, as soon as upon a time.

Mars farts

Over time, Curiosity has detected fluctuating methane ranges on Mars. Not loads – not almost as a lot as on Earth – however sufficient to be intriguing.

Right here on our dwelling planet, methane is generally produced by organic processes, so it could possibly be a touch that there are microbes dwelling under the Martian floor. Elsewhere within the Photo voltaic System, nevertheless, methane is produced by geological processes, so we won’t get too forward of ourselves.

Planetary scientists and astrobiologists are itching to resolve it. So are we, to be sincere. It is an interesting thriller.

Natural compounds

Simply final yr, Curiosity lastly gave us conclusive proof of a number of natural compounds on Mars. In drilled samples, it recognized thiophene, 2- and Three-methylthiophenes, methanethiol, and dimethylsulfide – exhibiting that the natural chemistry in Martian mudstone is fairly near mudstone on Earth.

“With these new findings, Mars is telling us to remain the course and hold looking for proof of life,” NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen stated. So thrilling!

Reverse sky

We already knew that Martian skies are fairly totally different from Earth skies, however Curiosity allowed us to see a kind of superb alien sunsets with our personal eyes. And so they actually are alien.

In contrast to Earth, the place the daytime sky is blue and the sundown sky turns purple, the Martian daytime sky is purple – and the sunsets are blue.

(NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Damia Bouic)

That is as a result of throughout an Earth sundown, gentle wavelengths within the blue finish of the spectrum are scattered by gasoline molecules within the environment. Mars would not have a variety of these. As a substitute, it has a bunch of mud – and that scatters the purple wavelengths, leading to a blue sky because the Solar goes down.

Mo’ moons, mo’ eclipses

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, they usually whip spherical at a breakneck tempo. Deimos orbits Mars each 30.Three hours. For Phobos, it is simply 7.65 hours. That is a variety of alternative for lunar eclipses – and Curiosity managed to movie some.

Deimos in transit. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

They appear very totally different from Earth’s photo voltaic eclipses: only a chunk of rock passing in entrance of the Solar, and by no means fully blocking its gentle. (That is as a result of Earth is definitely a little bit of a weirdo. Our Solar and Moon are at exactly the precise distances in order that they seem virtually precisely the identical dimension within the Sky from Earth.)

We already knew this, in fact. However typically seeing a distinct perspective actually highlights what a wondrous Universe we dwell in.

Thanks, Curiosity. We hope you spend many extra years exhibiting us the secrets and techniques of the Photo voltaic System.