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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 4 min read
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4616-4617: Standing Tall on the Ridge
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, showing the impressive landscape it is currently navigating. The rover is standing tall on the ridge, its shadow casting forward, and Mount Sharp towers over the scene in the distance. Curiosity captured this image with its Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) on July 30, 2025 — Sol 4614, or Martian day 4,614 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 02:24:02 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Susanne P. Schwenzer, Professor of Planetary Mineralogy at The Open University, UK
Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 30, 2025
The day started with a little celebration of NISAR, a new Earth observation satellite that made it successfully into orbit a few hours before our planning started. We joined in by saying “GO NISAR, NASA, JPL, and ISRO” (the Indian Space Research Organisation, NASA’s mission partner, which launched NISAR). Learn more at the NISAR mission hub. Although our team studies Mars, Earth is a planet, too, and we are very happy for our colleagues’ successful launch!
On Mars, it’s still winter and the topic of every planning is how to maximize the science we can do given the increased power needs for heating our rover at this time of the year. Curiosity is parked on top of the main ridge, nicknamed the “autobahn.” It turned out to be not as smooth as its terrestrial namesake, as you can see in the image above. To arrive at this parking position, our rover drivers decided to take a small detour down into a flatter area and back up onto the ridge for safe off-road driving. The rover’s parking position allows for beautiful views around us, laying out the land of hollows and ridges perfectly to plan our next steps and to admire Mount Sharp in the distance.
Standing tall on the ridge, we got several investigations of the ridge-forming materials into today’s plan. APXS, MAHLI, and ChemCam are all teaming up to investigate the target “El Salto.” This is a target that could get us a glimpse into what formed the central line that is running along the big ridge. If you look closely at the images there are subtle differences in color and texture, and we are all curious whether that translates to chemical differences, too.
Of course, it’s not all about chemistry. Mastcam is busy documenting a small mound, and its context with veins and the hollow surrounding it, at the target “Llullaillaco.” The target “Cementerio De Tortugas” will capture sand ripples within a trough area, there is an extension of the workspace imaging in the plan for more context of today’s observations, and finally the ridge intersection is of interest at the target “Villa Abecia.” Of course, Mastcam didn’t forget the documentation of the ChemCam target “El Salto” and the AEGIS target from the last plan. Speaking of ChemCam: It’s using its imaging capabilities to document the side of the ridge to give finer details of the sedimentary structures of the target “Llullaillaco.”
Atmospheric observations are also of highest interest at this time of the day. We continue our atmospheric monitoring by looking for dust devils as well as up toward the clouds in a joint observation with the CASSIS instrument, which is aboard the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter. In addition, Curiosity continues to monitor wind and temperature throughout the plan, and the DAN (dynamic albedo of neutrons) instrument observes the rocks underneath the rover for their water content.
After completing the observations at the current parking location, Curiosity will be driving off the ridge again, but this time to stay within the hollow, so we can make observations of the material that forms those hollows. Let’s see if we can find any chemical differences between those materials that might explain why one is standing up tall and the other one is weathering out. If you want to get a better impression of what I am talking about when I say ridges and troughs, have a look at this recent navigation camera mosaic.
Learn more about Curiosity’s science instruments
For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates
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Last Updated Aug 04, 2025 Related Terms
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5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
This view of tracks trailing NASA’s Curiosity was captured July 26, 2025, as the rover simultaneously relayed data to a Mars orbiter. Combining tasks like this more efficiently uses energy generated by Curiosity’s nuclear power source, seen here lined with rows of white fins at the back of the rover.NASA/JPL-Caltech This is the same view of Curiosity’s July 25 mosaic, with labels indicating some key parts of the rover involved in recent efficiency improvements, plus a few prominent locations in the distance.NASA/JPL-Caltech New capabilities allow the rover to do science with less energy from its batteries.
Thirteen years since Curiosity landed on Mars, engineers are finding ways to make the NASA rover even more productive. The six-wheeled robot has been given more autonomy and the ability to multitask — improvements designed to make the most of Curiosity’s energy source, a multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (MMRTG). Increased efficiency means the rover has ample power as it continues to decipher how the ancient Martian climate changed, transforming a world of lakes and rivers into the chilly desert it is today.
Curiosity recently rolled into a region filled with boxwork formations. These hardened ridges are believed to have been created by underground water billions of years ago. Stretching for miles on this part of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain, the formations might reveal whether microbial life could have survived in the Martian subsurface eons ago, extending the period of habitability farther into when the planet was drying out.
NASA’s Curiosity viewed this rock shaped like a piece of coral on July 24, 2025, the 4,608th Martian day of the mission. The rover has found many rocks that — like this one — were formed by minerals deposited by ancient water flows combined with billions of years of sandblasting by wind.NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Carrying out this detective work involves a lot of energy. Besides driving and extending a robotic arm to study rocks and cliffsides, Curiosity has a radio, cameras, and 10 science instruments that all need power. So do the multiple heaters that keep electronics, mechanical parts, and instruments operating at their best. Past missions like the Spirit and Opportunity rovers and the InSight lander relied on solar panels to recharge their batteries, but that technology always runs the risk of not receiving enough sunlight to provide power.
Instead, Curiosity and its younger sibling Perseverance each use their MMRTG nuclear power source, which relies on decaying plutonium pellets to create energy and recharge the rover’s batteries. Providing ample power for the rovers’ many science instruments, MMRTGs are known for their longevity (the twin Voyager spacecraft have relied on RTGs since 1977). But as the plutonium decays over time, it takes longer to recharge Curiosity’s batteries, leaving less energy for science each day.
The team carefully manages the rover’s daily power budget, factoring in every device that draws on the batteries. While these components were all tested extensively before launch, they are part of complex systems that reveal their quirks only after years in the extreme Martian environment. Dust, radiation, and sharp temperature swings bring out edge cases that engineers couldn’t have expected.
“We were more like cautious parents earlier in the mission,” said Reidar Larsen of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which built and operates the rover. Larsen led a group of engineers who developed the new capabilities. “It’s as if our teenage rover is maturing, and we’re trusting it to take on more responsibility. As a kid, you might do one thing at a time, but as you become an adult, you learn to multitask.”
More Efficient Science
Generally, JPL engineers send Curiosity a list of tasks to complete one by one before the rover ends its day with a nap to recharge. In 2021, the team began studying whether two or three rover tasks could be safely combined, reducing the amount of time Curiosity is active.
For example, Curiosity’s radio regularly sends data and images to a passing orbiter, which relays them to Earth. Could the rover talk to an orbiter while driving, moving its robotic arm, or snapping images? Consolidating tasks could shorten each day’s plan, requiring less time with heaters on and instruments in a ready-to-use state, reducing the energy used. Testing showed Curiosity safely could, and all of these have now been successfully demonstrated on Mars.
Another trick involves letting Curiosity decide to nap if it finishes its tasks early. Engineers always pad their estimates for how long a day’s activity will take just in case hiccups arise. Now, if Curiosity completes those activities ahead of the time allotted, it will go to sleep early.
By letting the rover manage when it naps, there is less recharging to do before the next day’s plan. Even actions that trim just 10 or 20 minutes from a single activity add up over the long haul, maximizing the life of the MMRTG for more science and exploration down the road.
Miles to Go
In fact, the team has been implementing other new capabilities on Curiosity for years. Several mechanical issues required a rework of how the robotic arm’s rock-pulverizing drill collects samples, and driving capabilities have been enhanced with software updates. When a color filter wheel stopped turning on one of the two cameras mounted on Mastcam, Curiosity’s swiveling “head,” the team developed a workaround allowing them to capture the same beautiful panoramas.
JPL also developed an algorithm to reduce wear on Curiosity’s rock-battered wheels. And while engineers closely monitor any new damage, they aren’t worried: After 22 miles (35 kilometers) and extensive research, it’s clear that, despite some punctures, the wheels have years’ worth of travel in them. (And in a worst-case scenario, Curiosity could remove the damaged part of the wheel’s “tread” and still drive on the remaining part.)
Together, these measures are doing their job to keep Curiosity as busy as ever.
More About Curiosity
Curiosity was built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program portfolio. Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego built and operates Mastcam.
For more about Curiosity, visit:
science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity
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Andrew Good
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Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
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Last Updated Aug 04, 2025 Related Terms
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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 2 min read
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4614-4615: Driving Along the Boxwork
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, looking out in the direction from where it came, with the rover’s tracks visible through the dust and sand covering the ground. Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on July 28, 2025 — Sol 4612, or Martian day 4,612 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 00:27:23 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Conor Hayes, Graduate Student at York University
Earth planning date: Monday, July 28, 2025
Today was a pretty straightforward day of planning. Our drive over the weekend completed successfully, and we quickly confirmed that we are parked in a stable position. Thus, we were able to unstow the rover’s arm to poke around in our new workspace, which features a large sand-filled fracture. Aside from all of the good geology work to be done, the view from our current location is quite spectacular.
We’re still in the time of year where the atmosphere at Gale is reasonably dust-free (at least, compared to later in the year), allowing us to look all the way out to and beyond the Gale crater rim. The upper slopes of Mount Sharp have also re-emerged to our east after spending months hidden behind the walls of Gediz Vallis. There’s a bit more sand and dust in this location than we’ve seen recently, so we can also see the trail left behind by the rover’s wheels as we drove to this location (see the image above).
We’re still deep in our examination of the boxwork structures that we’re now driving through, so most of Curiosity’s attention in this plan is focused much closer to the rover than any of the scenic vista surrounding us. APXS, DRT, and MAHLI will all take a look at “Cañón de Palca,” some bedrock close to the large fracture in this workspace. Mastcam and ChemCam RMI will image some boxwork ridges at “Caine,” and will also collaborate on imaging of the weekend’s post-drive AEGIS target and a LIBS bedrock target “Doña Ines.” Mastcam’s solo activities include taking a look at some layering at “Paniri butte” and at MAHLI to examine a speck of dust that may have fallen on the lens.
We’ll be driving away from this location along one of the boxwork ridges, which, at about 5 meters (about 16 feet) wide, is more than large enough to fit our car-sized rover. Post-drive activities are largely focused on environmental monitoring, including Navcam line-of-sight and dust-devil surveys to look at dust, and several Navcam cloud movies. As usual, ChemCam will also join the post-drive fun with an AEGIS observation. More environmental monitoring by REMS, RAD, and DAN fill out the remainder of this plan.
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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 2 min read
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4611-4613: Scenic Overlook
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image, sitting on top of the distinctive ridge-and-hollow terrain of the boxwork-forming unit for a panoramic view, on July 24, 2025. Curiosity used its Right Navigation Camera on Sol 4609, or Martian day 4,609 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission, at 21:29:43 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth planning date: Friday, July 25, 2025
A 23-meter drive (about 75 feet) brought Curiosity to today’s planned “look-about” spot. The highlight of the plan will be the 360-degree Mastcam panorama that will document the ridge-and-hollow topography of the boxwork-forming unit we’ve been exploring, in addition to overlying stratigraphy in some of the nearby buttes. The right-angle ridge pattern is quite prominent in the HiRISE orbital imaging, which enabled us to plan for this stop. It has been 70 sols since the last panorama and the rover has driven quite some distance in that time!
Additional detailed imaging was planned with the ChemCam remote imager (RMI) and Mastcam high-resolution M100: mosaics will cover the exposed strata underneath the ridge we’re planning to drive on (“Arequipa Airport”), two linear fractures, one parallel to the large ridge and one cross-cutting it (“Laguna de Salinas” and “Laguna Santa Rosa”), some troughs around a nearby light-toned float block (“Arubai”), and the Uyuni butte in the middle distance.
The bedrock texture here was a noticeable change from the previous workspace, with a knobbly oriented texture interspersed occasionally with platier exposures. Geochemical measurements were planned with the ChemCam LIBS to complement the auto-targeted post-drive AEGIS measurement: “La Coca” on a block that appeared to show unusual colors, and “El Algodón” on a knobbly textured chunk of bedrock. APXS geochemistry was planned with dust removal on the “Yura Tuff” knobbly target and without dust removal on the “Tipnis” target. MAHLI will also provide close-up imaging on the two APXS targets.
For the modern Martian environment, it’s still the cloudy season at Gale so we are planning several cloud-related activities. The Mastcam sky survey will measure abundances of atmospheric dust and water ice, whereas a special cloud altitude observation will include video of clouds and their shadows so that the altitudes and velocities of the clouds and related winds can be calculated. A separate short movie will search for dust lifting (dust devil) activity. Finally, the usual passive REMS and DAN observations will monitor the temperature, humidity, and neutron environment at Curiosity’s current location.
For more Curiosity blog posts, visit MSL Mission Updates
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