NASA’s Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars since it landed on the Red Planet in 2012, providing vital data about its history, climate, and potential for life. Recently, the rover concluded its study of the Gediz Vallis channel, a region located on the slopes of Mount Sharp, and is now heading toward a new target called the boxwork formation. This exploration is a critical part of Curiosity’s mission to understand how Mars transitioned from having a wetter, more habitable climate to the arid, dry conditions that dominate the planet today.
Gediz Vallis reveals clues about Mars’ past climate and geology.
Gediz Vallis is a channel or valley on Mars that reveals clues about the planet’s past climate and geological processes. The valley’s features suggest that water once flowed through this region, and scientists believe that it may have been formed by a combination of rivers, debris flows, and avalanches—a mix of wet and dry processes over time. This area is located on the slopes of Mount Sharp, a peak inside the Gale Crater, where the Curiosity rover has been operating for years. Mount Sharp itself has layers of ancient rocks that are key to understanding the evolution of Mars’ climate, as they have preserved evidence of the planet’s environmental changes over billions of years.
Before leaving Gediz Vallis, Curiosity captured a 360-degree panorama of the landscape, providing a rich visual record of the region. These images help scientists study the terrain and features in detail, giving them further insights into the channel’s formation and the processes that shaped it. By exploring areas like Gediz Vallis, Curiosity is helping researchers piece together how Mars evolved from a warm, potentially wetter world to the cold and dry planet it is now.
Sulphur-rich stones found by Curiosity provide clues to Mars’ past
One of the most exciting findings during Curiosity’s exploration of Gediz Vallis is the discovery of rare sulphur-rich stones. These stones are bright white in colour, and when Curiosity’s wheels crushed them, they revealed yellow crystals inside. This discovery is significant because sulphur is a key element when studying planetary environments, and it can be indicative of past chemical processes, including potential signs of microbial life.
What makes this discovery even more intriguing is that on Earth, sulphur is usually associated with volcanic activity or hot springs, where sulphur-rich compounds are commonly found due to high-temperature environments. However, Mount Sharp doesn’t have volcanic features or hot springs—two things that are usually associated with sulphur on Earth. This raises a mystery for scientists: how did these sulphur-rich deposits form on Mars?
Ashwin Vasavada, Curiosity’s project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, described the discovery as a “fascinating mystery.” Researchers are now analysing the data to determine the origins of these sulphur deposits. Possible explanations include chemical reactions involving water and minerals, but scientists are still investigating all potential causes. The discovery could be a key piece of the puzzle in understanding Mars’ history of water and its potential for supporting life in the distant past.