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Explore This Section Perseverance Home Mission Overview Rover Components Mars Rock Samples Where is Perseverance? Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Mission Updates Science Overview Objectives Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Perseverance Raw Images Images Videos Audio More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read
Linking Local Lithologies to a Larger Landscape
This image from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, taken by the Mastcam-Z instrument’s right eye, shows a collection of ridge-forming boulders. The rover acquired this image looking south along the ridge while exploring the “Westport” region of the outer crater rim on July 18, 2025 — Sol 1568, or Martian day 1,568 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 11:53:04. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU Written by Margaret Deahn, Ph.D. Student at Purdue University
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover is continuing to explore a boundary visible from orbit dividing bright, fractured outcrop from darker, smoother regolith (also known as a contact). The team has called this region “Westport,” (a fitting title, as the rover is exploring the western-most rim of Jezero), which hosts a contact between the smoother, clay-bearing “Krokodillen” unit and an outcrop of olivine-bearing boulders that converge to form a ridge on the outer Jezero crater rim. To learn more about the nature of this contact, see this blog post by Dr. Melissa Rice. Piecing together geologic events like the formation of this olivine-bearing material on Jezero’s crater rim may allow us to better understand Mars’ most ancient history.
The rover has encountered several olivine-bearing rocks while traversing the rim, but it is unclear if, and how these rocks are all connected. Jezero crater is in a region of Mars known as Northeast Syrtis, which hosts the largest contiguous exposure (more than 113,000 square kilometers, or more than 43,600 square miles) of olivine-rich material identified from orbit on Mars (about the same square mileage as the state of Ohio!). The olivine-rich materials are typically found draping over older rocks, often infilling depressions, which may provide clues to their origins. Possible origins for the olivine-rich materials in Northeast Syrtis may include (but are not limited to): (1) intrusive igneous rocks (rocks that cool from magma underground), (2) melt formed and deposited during an impact event, or (3) pyroclastic ash fall or flow from a volcanic eruption.
The Perseverance rover’s investigation of the olivine-bearing materials on the rim of Jezero crater may allow us to better constrain the history of the broader volcanic units present in the Northeast Syrtis region. Olivine-rich material in Northeast Syrtis is consistently sandwiched between older, clay-rich rock and younger, more olivine-poor material (commonly referred to as the “mafic capping” unit), and may act as an important marker for recording early alteration by water, which could help us understand early habitable environments on Mars. We see potential evidence of all of these units on Jezero crater’s rim based on orbital mapping. If the olivine-bearing rocks the Perseverance rover is encountering on the rim are related to these materials, we may be able to better constrain the age of this widespread geologic unit on Mars.
Learn more about Perseverance’s science instruments
For more Perseverance blog posts, visit Mars 2020 Mission Updates
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Last Updated Aug 07, 2025 Related Terms
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3 min read Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking Off (Earth) Year 14 With an Investigation of Veins
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, looking south across the large boxwork structures, using its Left Navigation Camera on July 17, 2025. A series of ridges and hollows forms the dramatic topography in the foreground, while the distant buttes expose additional sedimentary structures. Curiosity acquired this image on Sol 4602, or Martian day 4,602 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, at 17:49:18 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Earth planning date: Friday, July 18, 2025
Curiosity has started to investigate the main exposure of the boxwork structures! What was once a distant target is now on our doorstep, and Curiosity is beginning to explore the ridges and hollows that make up this terrain, to better understand their chemistry, morphology, and sedimentary structures.
I was on shift as Long Term Planner during this three-sol weekend plan, and the team put together a very full set of activities to thoroughly investigate this site — from the sky to the sand. The plan starts with Navcam and Mastcam observations to assess the amount of dust in the atmosphere, followed by a large Mastcam mosaic to characterize the resistant ridge on which the rover is parked. ChemCam will also acquire a LIBS observation on a target named “Vicuna” to assess the chemistry of a well-exposed vein. The team chose this parking location to characterize the chemistry and textures of this topographic ridge (to compare with topographic lows), so the next part of the plan involves contact science using APXS and MAHLI to look at different parts of the nodular bedrock in our workspace, at targets named “Totoral” and “Sillar.” There’s also a MAHLI observation of the same vein that ChemCam targeted.
The second sol involves more Mastcam imaging to look at different parts of this prominent ridge, along with a ChemCam LIBS observation on top of the ridge, and a ChemCam RMI mosaic to document the sedimentary structures in a distant boxwork feature. Navcam will also be used to look for dust devils. Then Curiosity will take a short drive of about 5 meters (about 16 feet) to explore the adjacent hollow (seen as the low point in the foreground of the above Navcam image). After the drive we’ll take more images for context, and to prepare for targeting in Monday’s plan.
After all of this work it’s time to pause and take a deep breath… of Martian atmosphere. The weekend plan involves an exciting campaign to look for variations in atmospheric chemistry between night and day. So Curiosity will take an overnight APXS atmospheric observation at the same time that two instruments within SAM assess its chemical and isotopic abundance.
On the third sol Curiosity will acquire a ChemCam passive sky observation, leading to a great set of atmospheric data. These measurements will be compared to even more atmospheric activities in Monday’s plan to get the full picture. As you can imagine, this plan requires a lot of power, but it’s worth it for all of the exciting science that we can accomplish here.
The road ahead has many highs and lows (literally), but I can’t wait to see what Curiosity will accomplish. The distant buttes remind us that there’s so much more to explore, and I look forward to continuing to see where Curiosity will take us.
For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates
Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments
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The most complex parachute system to ever deploy on Mars has successfully slowed down an ExoMars mock-up landing platform for a safe touchdown on Earth.
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By USH
These images captured by the Curiosity rover in 2014 reveals yet another unexplained aerial phenomenon in the Martian atmosphere, a cigar-shaped object with a consistent width and rounded ends.
What makes this anomaly particularly compelling is the sharp clarity of the image. According to Jean Ward the stars in the background appear crisp and unblurred, indicating that the object is not the result of motion blur or a long exposure. Notably, the object appears in five separate frames over an 8-minute span, suggesting it is moving relatively slowly through space, uncharacteristic of a meteorite entering the atmosphere. It also lacks the fiery tail typically associated with atmospheric entry.
Rather than a meteor, the object more closely resembles a solid, elongated craft of unknown origin. When oriented horizontally, it even appears to feature a front-facing structure, possibly a porthole or raised dome, hinting at a cockpit or command module.
Whether this object is orbiting beyond the visible horizon or connected to the surface far in the distance, its sheer size is unmistakable. Its presence raises compelling questions, could this be further evidence of intelligently controlled craft, whether of extraterrestrial or covert human origin, navigating through Martian airspace?View the full article
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