Signs of life in NASA images from Mars (12 photos). Images of the red planet from the Curiosity rover Mars images of Curiosity
Brief description of the picture: The plan for 2159-2162 working days was very big, for 4 sols almost 3 gigabits of data! All this volume was transferred to Earth with the help of two additional orbiters. Typically, the MRO and Mars Odyssey vehicles are used to send data, on average 500 megabits of data are transmitted per sol (about 60 megabytes). In November, the InSight mission will land on Mars and all MRO resources will be directed to data transmission from this lander, then the Curiosity rover will switch to transmission via the MAVEN and ExoMars spacecraft. These days, work through these satellites was just tested. This allowed to reduce the amount of deferred data.
During Sol 2159, the rover recharged its batteries. Over the next three days, the rover went into a flurry of activity. MastCam captured multispectral panoramas of Tayvallich, Rosie, Rhinns of Galloway and Ben Haint, and captured the Ben Vorlich rock. The "Ben Vorlich" stone was examined with a laser using a ChemCam analyzer, and "Tayvallich" was examined with an APXS X-ray spectrometer, a ChemCam analyzer and filmed with a MAHLI camera on the arm of the manipulator.
After executing the program for 2161 Martian days, a calibration cycle of the main instruments of the rover was carried out, and the APXS spectrometer studied its calibration target (a marker on the rover itself) at night. The MastCam camera took a series of multispectral images of the working area.
Sol 2162 was dedicated to collecting environmental data, including a survey of the sky and the rim of Gale Crater, to compare the amount of dust near the surface with its concentration in the atmosphere as a whole.
On Martian day 2163, the rover traveled 15 meters to the next location where it was supposed to use the drill rover. An interesting gray rock site has already been selected for this, which, according to orbital data, belongs to the Jura region from the Murray geological horizon on the Vera Rubin Ridge. This place was called "Lake Eriboll" (Loch Eriboll, Scottish). Scientists decided to find out how this section of the rock differs from the surrounding brown stones, which are more typical for this area. Before proceeding to contact research, it was decided to explore the area from the outside.
But first, on Sol 2165, MAHLI took a close-up picture of a REMS UV sensor, which needs to be checked periodically for dust and general condition. 
After checking the sensor, the rover moved a little to the side and conducted a series of remote surveys of 4 targets ("The Law", "Eathie", "The Minch" and "Windy Hills") using the ChemCam analyzer, then documented them using the MastCam camera.
For a couple of days, the rover studied the place of geological contact of gray and brown stones in the "Lake Eriboll" area. On Sol 2167, the rover again moved slightly away from the drilling site. From the new position, the rover conducted two autonomous ChemCam spectrometer surveys of the rocks in the area. Then he took readings from the REMS and DAN instruments, monitored the environment using a navigation camera, prepared the CheMin analyzer for operation (vibrated the remains of soil from the Stoer area) and conducted basic testing of the SAM.
The rover met the 2168th Martian day on its way to the finally chosen location for drilling on the Vera Rubin Ridge. The move to the work area was successful and the rover stopped in front of a stone slab with the name "Inverness". On the same day, an area on the slab surface was cleaned of dust with a DRT brush, photographed with a MAHLI camera, studied with an APXS X-ray spectrometer, and the ChemCam laser analyzer evaporated the surface layer to study its chemistry. At the end of the day, the work area was filmed with a MastCam camera 
It would seem that everything is taken into account and ready to go. For several days, the rover was preparing to carry out drilling operations. On Sol 2171, the rover tried to drill a hole in the stone surface of the Inverness slab, but failed ... In the morning, when the working day on Earth had just begun, scientists learned that the drill could only go deep into the surface by 4 mm. 
Too hard! After a short discussion of the situation, it was decided to try again, but already in the area of \u200b\u200bLake Orcadie (Lake Orcadie), where they had previously tried to drill on the 1977th sol. During the last attempt in that area, they were able to go deeper by 10 mm, but then the new drilling method had not yet been finalized.
Having completed work in the region of the Inverness plate, the rover on Sol 2173 was supposed to travel 65 meters towards Orkady Lake, but could not ...
In the rover Curiosity (Inquisitiveness), also known as "NASA's Martian Science Laboratory" (MNL), a kind of anniversary. For 2000 Martian days (sols) he has been exploring the Gale crater on the Red Planet.
During this period, the robot made many important observations. Having selected only a few of them, the team of scientists working with Curiosity has prepared a few interesting ones for you.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSABOUTglancingback. Throughout the history of the space age, we have received many spectacular pictures of the planets. Many of them showed the Earth photographed from deep space.
This Mastcam image from the Curiosity rover shows our planet as a barely visible speck of light in the night sky of Mars. Every day, scientists from all over the world operate Curiosity and study the Red Planet from 100 million miles away.
- Musk: a colony on Mars should be created before the world war
- Musk's electric car 'crossed the orbit of Mars'
Start. The first image from Curiosity came 15 minutes after the rover landed on Mars on August 5, 2012.
Photos and other data come to us through the interplanetary station "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter" (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, MRO), which is above the robot at certain intervals, which determines the structure of the working day on Mars, or sol.
This photo shows a grainy image from a Front Hazard Camera device (usually used by researchers to avoid obstacles in their path). This is the ultimate goal of our trip - Mount Sharp. When the picture arrived, we knew that the mission would be successful.
- Cosmic symbolism Elon Musk
- Elon Musk: rocket flight between cities of the world will take no more than half an hour
Reternalpebble. As we began to move across the surface of the planet (16 sols after landing), we soon stumbled upon these layers of pebbles.
The round shape of the fragments indicates that they were formed in an ancient shallow river. It flowed from the surrounding highlands, which were already four billion years old, and flowed into Gale Crater.
In the picture-insert from the Mastcam device - a stone in an enlarged view. Before the advent of the Martian Science Laboratory, we thought that the surface that was eroded by river water was all dark basalt. However, its mineralogical composition is not so simple.
- Elon Musk: the man who launched his convertible into space
A rock lying in the bed of this ancient river on Mars has changed our understanding of how the igneous crust and mantle of this planet formed.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-CaltechPradavnherlake. Before the spacecraft landed and during the initial stages of the mission, the researchers did not yet know for sure what exactly they were seeing in the relief images obtained from the Martian reconnaissance satellite's HiRISE camera. It could be lava flows or lake deposits.
Without detailed close-up shots "from the surface" there was no certainty. But this image ended the controversy and marked a turning point in the study of Mars. The Yellowknife Bay area contains layers of fine-grained sand and silt, formed under the waters of the rivers flowing into the ancient lake of Gale Crater.
We drilled the first 16 holes here at the John Klein site on Sol 182. This is done in order to take rock samples and send them to the spectrometer contained in the body of our rover. Clay, organics and nitro compounds obtained as a result of the analysis indicate that there was once a favorable environment for microbial life. Whether there was life here remains to be determined.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSDeep water. Around sol 753, the rover approached the area of the Pahrump Hills. The work at this site has given us an invaluable opportunity to understand what kind of environment once existed in Gale Crater.
Here, the rover found thin layers of shale, which were formed as a result of the sedimentation of particles in the depths of the lake. So, Gale Lake was a deep body of water, the water in which stood for a very long time.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSNeuknitting. Beginning in sol 980, near Mount Stimson, the rover found a large layer of sandstone overlying lake sediments. So-called discrepancies formed between them - a violation of the geological sequence of stratifications.
This geological feature testifies to the times when, after millions of years of existence, the lake finally dried up. Erosion began, which led to the formation of a new soil surface - evidence of events that took place over an "indefinite time". An example of such inconsistency was found by the discoverer geologist James Hutton at Sikkar Point on the coast of Scotland.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSPeski-pustyni. Curiosity approached the Namib dune on Sol 1192. It belongs to a large cluster of dunes of Bagnold (Bagnold). These are the first active dunes we've explored on another planet, so Curiosity has been very careful making its way forward because the shifting sands are an obstacle to rovers.
And although the atmosphere on Mars is 100 times less dense than Earth's, it is still capable of carrying sand, forming beautiful structures similar to those that we see in deserts on planet Earth.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSINwindmillssculpturess. The Murray Buttes, photographed by the Mastcam device on sol 1448, formed from the same sandstone that the rover found at Mount Stimson.
This is a section of dunes formed from lithified sandstone. They arose as a result of the activity of dunes, similar to those we have seen in the modern Bagnold band. These desert deposits are located above the discrepancies. And this indicates that after a long period, the humid climate was replaced by an arid one, and the wind became the main factor in the formation of the environment in Gale Crater.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP/LPGNantes/CNRS/IASABOUTstony silt. The Curiosity rover can analyze the composition of rocks in the Gale Mountains in detail. To do this, he uses a ChemCam laser and a telescope mounted on a mast. In sol 1555 at Schooner Head we came across ancient silt desiccation cracks and streaks of sulfur rock.
On Earth, lakes gradually dry up within their shores. This is what happened to Gale Lake here on Mars. Red marks mark the places in the rock where we directed the laser. There was a small spark of plasma, and the wavelength of light in the spark told us about the composition of the shale and veinlets.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-CaltechClouds in the sky. This sequence of images was taken by the rover with the navigational cameras (NavCam, Navigational Cameras) on Sol 1971, when we pointed them into the sky. From time to time, on the most cloudy days, we can see fuzzy clouds in the sky of Mars.
These shots have been processed to highlight the difference and show how the clouds move across the sky. The three images show hitherto unseen cloud patterns that take on a noticeable zigzag shape. Shooting these images from start to finish lasted approximately twelve Martian minutes.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSAboutlingeringselfieAnd. Over the years of service, thanks to numerous selfies taken throughout the route, the Curiosity rover has earned such a reputation that it can easily compete with Instagram users.
However, these selfies are not only for narcissism. They help the research team to monitor the state of the work throughout the mission, because wheels can wear out, dirt accumulates. Curiosity makes these self-portraits using the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) device, located on a mechanical manipulator - the "hand" of the work.
By merging many high-definition images, the picture is mounted. This particular photo was taken on Sol 1065 in the Buckskin area. It shows the main mast of Curiosity with the ChemCam telescope, which is used to identify rocks, and the Mastcam camera.
In the foreground is a gray pile of waste rock particles (so-called tailings) left after drilling.
Image copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Image caption Cooperstown - Darwin - Bradbury Site - Yellowknife Bay - Bagnold Dunes - Vera Rubin's Spine - Twin Craters - Highest point of crater rim (left to right)Beforelyingroad. This is a panoramic shot from the Mastcam. It shows the path that the Curiosity rover has traveled over the past 5 years: 18.4 km from the landing site (Bradbury) to the location - on the Vera Rubin Ridge (VRR, Vera Rubin Ridge).
Previously, this ridge was called hematite - due to the high content of the mineral hematite (red iron ore), which scientists received from orbit.
Since hematite is predominantly formed in the presence of water, this area is of great interest to the Curiosity team, which has been studying the changing conditions at Gale Crater throughout its geologic history.
This important site is perfect for Curiosity to celebrate its 2000th Sol. And for us, this is an observation deck from which you can look back at the numerous discoveries made during the mission of the rover.
Follow our news at
New color photo of the surface of the planet Mars in high resolution 2019 with descriptions obtained from NASA's Earth-Space Telescope and NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover.
If you have never seen frosty deserts, then you need to visit the Red Planet. It didn't get its name by chance. pictures of mars from the rover confirm this fact. Space- an amazing place where you can find completely unusual phenomena. So, the reddish color is created by iron oxide, that is, the surface is covered with rust. There are also amazing dust storms that show high-quality photo of Mars from space in high definition. Well, let's not forget that so far this is the first goal in the search for extraterrestrial life. On our site you can see new real photos of the surface of Mars from rovers, satellites and telescopes from space.
High resolution photos of Mars
First picture of Mars
July 20, 1976 was a turning point when the Viking 1 spacecraft managed to get the first photo of the surface of Mars. His main tasks were to create high-resolution frames to analyze the structure and atmospheric composition and look for signs of life.
Arsino Chaos on Mars
On January 4, 2015, the HiRISE camera on the MRO managed to capture a photo of the Red Planet's surface from space. Before you is the territory of Arsino-Chaos, located in the far eastern region of the canyon of the Mariner Valley. The damaged relief may be based on the influence of massive water channels flowing in a northerly direction. The curved landscape is represented by yards. These are areas of rock that have been sandblasted. Between them are transverse sandy ridges - Aeolian. This is a real mystery hidden between dunes and ripples. The point is at 7 degrees S. sh. and 332 degrees E. sh. HiRISE is one of 6 instruments on MRO.
Attack on Mars
Martian Dragonscale
This interesting surface texture is created from the contact of rock with water. Reviewed by MRO. Then the stone collapsed and again came into contact with the surface. Martian rock, which has become clay, is marked in pink. There is still little information about the water itself and its interaction with the stone. And this is not surprising, because scientists have not yet focused on solving such issues. But understanding this will help to understand the past climate situation. The latest analysis suggested that the early environment may not have been as warm and humid as we would have liked. But this is not a problem for the development of Martian life. Therefore, researchers focus on terrestrial life forms that originate in dry and frosty areas. The scale of the map of Mars is 25 cm per pixel.
martian dunes
martian ghosts
martian rocks
martian tattoos
Martian Niagara Falls
Escape from Mars
Surface Martian shapes
A photo of the surface of Mars was taken with the HiRISE camera of the MRO spacecraft, performing a flyby in Martian orbit. Similar gully reliefs appear on many craters in the middle planetary latitudes. For the first time, changes began to be noticed in 2006. Now they find many deposits in ravines. This photo shows new sediment in Gus crater, living in the southern mid-latitudes. The position is brighter in enhanced color shots. The image was mined in the spring, but the stream formed in the winter. It is believed that the activity of ravines awakens in winter and early spring.
Arrival and movement of Martian ice
Blue on the Red Planet
Follow the (bright) stream
Snowy martian dunes
Mars tattoos
Textures in Deuteronilus
This year has been a good year for NASA's Martian Surface Robot, which has taken some stunning photos of the Red Planet over the past 12 months.
Since August 2012, the Curiosity rover has been making its way across the Martian surface, gaining new information about the environment. Where are the streams of water? Was there life here? And what happened in Gale Crater and Mount Aeolis? Now that the rover is in the lower mountain, it has captured some spectacular shots of dunes, rocks, and even a meteorite. Here are the most remarkable shots.
Dunes
Grab your 3D glasses and enjoy this 13ft Martian dune! The Namib Dune has become part of the study of active sand dunes (they migrate rapidly every year). The Namib is part of the Bagnold Dunes region, which move one meter a year.
"Like on Earth, downwind, sand dunes have a steep slope called a sliding edge," NASA said in a statement. “Sand grains blow from the windward side, creating mounds, which then, like an avalanche, fall down. Then the process is repeated."
sandy selfie
This is another view of the Bagnold Dune region taken by the rover from the front. It's not just a cool shot. It allows NASA engineers to monitor the state of the device. For example, the first cause for concern was how quickly the wheels of the rover wore out. NASA started driving on nasty ground, which slowed down the wear rate.
bumps
The Martian rock is an interesting thing to study, as it tells a lot of useful information about the geological history of the planet. Here you can see some sandstone outcroppings inside the Murray Geological Block. For some reason, these formations seem to have stopped the erosion.
"The site is located in the lower Mount Sharp zone, where mudstones from the Murray Block (visible in the lower right corner) are exposed adjacent to the overlying Stimson Block," NASA said in a statement. “The exact line of contact between the two blocks is covered with windblown sand. Most of the other parts of the Stimson block did not show the presence of erosion-resistant nodules."
rocks
This magnificent panorama (including the shadow of the apparatus on the right) shows the Naukluft Plateau at the bottom of Mount Sharp. Curiosity took a series of images on April 4, so that geologists were able to understand the entire region (rock history).
“Since landing, the rover has passed through terrain with aquatic sedimentary rocks (mudstones and siltstones, as well as accumulations in the early stages), some of which contained minerals such as clay, indicating the ancient presence of water,” says NASA. “But on the new plateau, the rover found itself in a completely different geology. The sandstone here represents thick layers of windblown sand, suggesting that these deposits formed in a drier era.”
Ripples and dust
Even the ripples on Mars are different. The largest ripples in the image are 10 feet apart. You won't see this on Earth. Although the small ones still resemble ours. This image was taken in December 2015 at the Bagnold dune field. The images were immediately sent to Earth for publication, but sometimes it takes months to upload to get a better look.
“The footage was taken in the early morning with a camera facing the Sun,” NASA writes. “This mosaic image has been processed to make the ripples more visible. The sand is very dark because of the morning shadows and the inner darkness of the minerals that dominate its composition.”
Autonomous Piu Piu
Bye laz 
Black robot gunfire looks a little intimidating on Earth, it has been used peacefully on Mars. The rover selects targets for laser analysis using a software program. So, if the device is in the right place, it can get to work while scientists try to orient themselves. On the left frame you see the goal before the procedure, and on the right - the result.
“The ChemCam laser spectrometer erases a grid of nine points on a stone selected according to specified criteria. In this case, it was necessary to find a bright exposed stone, and not dark rocks. Within 30 minutes after the Navcam received the image, the laser completed the task on the target area.
rocky beauty
What at first glance looks like a random assortment of Murray Buttes hill rocks actually says a lot about the long history of ancient Mars. While the planet is dominated by wind erosion, the image shows important processes for the past. The craft also found evidence of water erosion in the upper regions of Mount Sharp.
“These are the remains of ancient sandstone created by wind-set sand after the formation of Lower Sharp Mountain. The cross bedding indicates that the sandstone was blown by a migrating dune."
Vision of the future
The picture was taken in late 2016, showing the view from the rover, including where it is heading next. The orange rock is the lower part of Mount Sharp. Above it is a layer of hematite, even higher is clay (hard to see here). The rounded hills are a block of sulfate where Curiosity plans to head. Farther away are the high slopes of the mountain. The rover will be able to see them, but will not drive close.
“The variety of colors hints at the difference in the composition of the mountain. Violet has already been noticed in other rocks in which hematite has been found. This season the winds don't blow much sand and the rocks are relatively free of dust (which can obscure the color)."
alien visits
You can't even imagine how cool it is! A man-made rover surfs an alien planet and stumbles upon an alien object. You see a nickel-iron meteorite about the size of a golf ball. It was called "stone egg". “This is a general class of space rocks that have been found more than once on Earth. But on Mars, we found this for the first time. It was examined using a laser spectrometer."
Path through history
On August 7, 2012, Curiosity, a complex 900-kilogram rover equipped with the latest technology, began working on the surface of Mars. In the future, Curiosity may become one of the most successful space missions: the scientific equipment on board is designed to study in detail the geological history of Mars and shed light on the question of life on this still mysterious planet. Despite the fact that the main work of the apparatus will end after 668 Martian days, in total Curiosity is capable of operating for at least 14 years
Typical Martian landscape during the day
Part of the Gale crater mosaic
Track from the Curiosity wheel on the sand of Mars
Sand, dust and stone called Burwash. The image was taken at a distance of 11.5 cm from the stone, the size of the image is 7.6 by 5.7 cm
A sandbank from which Curiosity took soil samples. On the left, we see a raw image of a dune, showing what it looks like on Mars, whose skies often have a reddish tint due to a lot of dust. On the right, the image has been processed to show what the same area would look like on Earth. The size of the rounded stone above the center of the image is about 20 cm
"Blueberry" - small spherical inclusions in the Martian soil. The balls are about 3 mm in size, they contain a large amount of red iron ore, which is formed in the presence of water.
The picture shows the bottom of the apparatus, all six wheels and the tracks left by them. In the foreground are two pairs of black and white HAZCAM navigation cameras.
Curiosity has just climbed Rocknest Dune to take the first soil samples from the Red Planet. The picture was taken on October 3, 2012, on the 57th day of operation of the device
The MAHLI camera looks at the Curiosity wheel.
Morning on Mars
Dark gray Martian rock. The image was taken with a MAHLI camera from a distance of 27 cm. The image area is 16 by 12 cm, and the resolution is 105 microns per pixel. Despite its impressive clarity, scientists have not been able to resolve the granules or crystals that make up the stone.
The "pyramid" on Mars is a rock dubbed Jake Matijevic. The picture was taken on September 21, 2012.
Studying the "Pyramid" at close range. Chemical analysis of the stone showed that it is rich in alkali metals, as well as halogens - chlorine and bromine. Judging by the spectrum, this stone is a mosaic of individual grains of minerals, including pyroxene, feldspar and olivine. In general, the composition of the stone is very atypical for Martian stones.
Color image of the "pyramid" on Mars. The image has been white-balanced to reveal differences in inclusions on the stone.
On the 55th day of stay on Mars. The focus of Curiosity is a sandy deposit called Rocknest, from the slope of which the rover took the first soil samples.
Remains of an ancient stream bed on Mars. The fact that water once flowed in this place is evidenced by many pieces of gravel and stone, which have a smooth rounded shape. In addition, the size of some of these pebbles suggests that they could only be carried by a stream of water. The rock, chipped like a broken pavement, is of sedimentary origin.
Looking back on the path
Evening on Mars. The picture was taken on day 49 of Curiosity.
The Martian rock, named Et-Then by scientists. The picture was taken by the MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) camera on October 29, 2012, on the 82nd day of Curiosity's stay on the Red Planet. The rock was photographed from a distance of 40 cm, the width of the image is only 25 cm. Et-Zen was found near the left front wheel of the device when Curiosity was preparing to take soil samples at Rocknest
Stones on Mars. Mosaic taken by the MAHLI camera on the 76th day of Curiosity's stay on the Mysterious Planet
