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By USH
The Curiosity rover continues to capture fascinating anomalies on the Martian surface. In this instance, researcher Jean Ward has examined a particularly intriguing discovery: a disc-shaped object embedded in the side of a mound or hill.
The images were taken by the Curiosity rover’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) on April 30, 2025 (Sol 4526). To improve clarity, Ward meticulously removed the grid overlay from the photographs, enhancing the visibility of the object.
To provide better spatial context for the disc’s location, Ward assembled two of the images into a collage. In the composite, you can see the surrounding area including a ridge, and the small mound where the disc appears partially embedded, possibly near the entrance of an opening.
The next image offers the clearest view of the anomaly. Ward again removed the grid overlay and subtly enhanced the contrast to bring out finer details, as the original image appeared overly bright and washed out.
In the close-up, displayed at twice the original scale, the smooth arc of the disc is distinctly visible. Its texture seems unusual, resembling stone or a slab-like material, flat yet with a defined curvature.
Might this disc-like structure have been engineered as a gateway, part of a hidden entrance leading to an architectural complex embedded within the hillside, hinting at a long-forgotten subterranean stronghold once inhabited by an extraterrestrial civilization?
Links original NASA images: https://mars.nasa.gov/raw_images/1461337/ https://mars.nasa.gov/raw_images/1461336/https://mars.nasa.gov/raw_images/1461335/
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By NASA
3 Min Read NASA Invests in Future STEM Workforce Through Space Grant Awards
NASA is awarding up to $870,000 annually to 52 institutions across the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico over the next four years. The investments aim to create opportunities for the next generation of innovators by supporting workforce development, science, technology, engineering and math education, and aerospace collaboration nationwide.
The Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant), established by Congress in 1989, is a workforce development initiative administered through NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM). The program’s mission is to produce a highly skilled workforce prepared to advance NASA’s mission and bolster the nation’s aerospace sector.
“The Space Grant program exemplifies NASA’s commitment to cultivating a new generation of STEM leaders,” said Torry Johnson, deputy associate administrator of the STEM Engagement Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By partnering with institutions across the country, we ensure that students have the resources, mentorship, and experiences needed to thrive in the aerospace workforce.”
The following is a complete list of awardees:
University of Alaska, Fairbanks University of Alabama, Huntsville University of Arkansas, Little Rock University of Arizona University of California, San Diego University of Colorado, Boulder University of Hartford, Connecticut American University, Washington, DC University of Delaware University of Central Florida Georgia Institute of Technology University of Hawaii, Honolulu Iowa State University, Ames University of Idaho, Moscow University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Purdue University, Indiana Wichita State University, Kansas University of Kentucky, Lexington Louisiana State University and A&M College Massachusetts Institute of Technology Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Maine Space Grant Consortium University of Michigan, Ann Arbor University of Minnesota Missouri University of Science and Technology University of Mississippi Montana State University, Bozeman North Carolina State University University of North Dakota, Grand Forks University of Nebraska, Omaha University of New Hampshire, Durham Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey New Mexico State University Nevada System of Higher Education Cornell University, New York Ohio Aerospace Institute University of Oklahoma Oregon State University Pennsylvania State University University of Puerto Rico Brown University, Rhode Island College of Charleston, South Carolina South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Vanderbilt University, Tennessee University of Texas, Austin University of Utah, Salt Lake City Old Dominion University Research Foundation, Virginia University of Vermont, Burlington University of Washington, Seattle Carthage College, Wisconsin West Virginia University University of Wyoming Space Grant operates through state-based consortia, which include universities, university systems, associations, government agencies, industries, and informal education organizations engaged in aerospace activities. Each consortium’s lead institution coordinates efforts within its state, expanding opportunities for students and researchers while promoting collaboration with NASA and aerospace-related industries nationwide.
To learn more about NASA’s missions, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/
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By NASA
NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny KimCredit: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Students from Santa Monica, California, will connect with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim as he answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions aboard the International Space Station.
Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 12:10 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 29, on the NASA STEM YouTube Channel.
Media interested in covering the event must RSVP by 5 p.m., Friday, April 25, to Esmi Careaga at: ecareaga@smmusd.org or 805-651-3204 x71582.
The event is hosted by Santa Monica High School, Kim’s alma mater, and includes students from Roosevelt Elementary School and Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica. The schools hope to inspire students to follow their dreams and explore their passions through curiosity, service, and interest in learning.
For more than 24 years, astronauts have continuously lived and worked aboard the space station, testing technologies, performing science, and developing skills needed to explore farther from Earth. Astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory communicate with NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston 24 hours a day through SCaN’s (Space Communications and Navigation) Near Space Network.
Important research and technology investigations taking place aboard the space station benefit people on Earth and lays the groundwork for other agency missions. As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign, the agency will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars, inspiring Artemis Generation explorers and ensuring the United States continues to lead in space exploration and discovery.
See videos highlighting space station research at:
https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation
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Gerelle Dodson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
gerelle.q.dodson@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Apr 23, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
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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 5 min read
Sols 4518-4519: Thumbs up from Mars
This image was taken by Front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Front Hazcam) onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4516. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Susanne Schwenzer, Planetary Geologist at The Open University
Earth planning date: Monday, 21st April 2025
It is Easter Monday, a bank holiday here in the United Kingdom. I am Science Operations Working Group Chair today, a role that is mainly focused on coordinating all the different planning activities on a given day, and ensuring all the numbers are communicated to everyone. And with that I mean making sure that everyone knows how much power we have and other housekeeping details. It’s a fun role, but on the more technical side of the mission, which means I don’t get to look at the rocks in the workspace as closely as my colleagues who are planning the activities of the instruments directly investigating the rocks. It’s a lot of fun to see how planning day after planning day things come together. But why am I doing this on a bank holiday, when I could well be on my sofa? I just was reminded in the hours before planning how much fun it actually is to spend a little more time looking at all the images – and not the usual hectic rush coming out of an almost complete work day (we start at 8 am PDT, which is 4 pm here in the UK!). So, I enjoyed the views of Mars, and I think Mars gave me a thumbs up for it, or better to say a little pointy ‘rock up’ in the middle of a sandy area, as you can see in the image above!
I am sure you noticed that our team has a lot to celebrate! Less than a month after the publication about alkanes made headlines in many news outlets, we have another big discovery from our rover, now 4518 sols on Mars: in three drill holes, the rover instruments detected the mineral siderite, a carbonate. That allowed a group of scientists from our team to piece together the carbon cycle of Mars. If you want to know more, the full story is here. I am looking forward to our next big discovery. Who knows that that is? Well, it would not be exploration, if we knew!
But today’s workspace looks intriguing with all its little laminae (the very fine layers) and its weathering patterns that look like a layered cake that little fingers have picked the icing off! (Maybe I had too many treats of the season this weekend? That’s for you to decide!) But then Mars did what it did so many times lately: we did not pass our slip risk assessment and therefore had to keep the arm stowed. I think there is a direct link between geologists getting exciting about all the many rocks, and a wheel ending up on one of them, making it unsafe to unstow the arm. There was a collective sigh of disappointment – and then we moved on to what we actually can do.
And that is a lot of imaging. As exciting as getting an APXS measurement and MAHLI images would be, Mastcam images, ChemCam chemistry and RMI images are exciting, too. The plan starts with three Mastcam activities to document the small troughs that form around some of the rocks. Those amount to 15 frames already, then we have a ten-frame mosaic on a target called “West Fork,” which is looking at rocks in the middle ground of the scenery and display interesting layering. Finally, a 84 frame mosaic will image Texoli, one of the large buttes in our neighbourhood, in all its beauty. It shows a series of interesting layers and structures, including some that might be akin to what we expect the boxwork structures to look like. Now, did you keep count? Yes, that’s 109 frames from Mastcam – and add the one for the documentation of the LIBS target, too, and Mastcam takes exactly 110 frames!
ChemCam is busy with a target called “Lake Poway,” which represents the bedrock around us. Also in the ChemCam activities is a long distance RMI upwards Mt Sharp to the Yardang unit. After the drive – more of that later – ChemCam as an automated observation, we call it AEGIS, where ChemCam uses a clever algorithm to pick its own target.
The drive will be very special today. As you may have seen, we are imaging our wheels in regular intervals to make sure that we are keeping track of the wear and tear that over 34 km of offroad driving on Mars have caused. For that, we need a very flat area and our rover drivers did locate one due West of the current rover positions. So, that’s where we will drive first, do the full MAHLI wheel imaging and then return to the originally planned path. That’s where we’ll do a MARDI image, post drive imaging to prepare the planning for the next sols, and the above mentioned AEGIS.
In addition to all the geologic investigations, there is continuous environmental monitoring ongoing. Curiosity will look at opacity and dust devils, and REMS will switch on regularly to measure wind speeds, humidity, temperature, ultraviolet radiation and pressure throughout the plan. Let’s not forget DAN, which monitors water and chlorine in the subsurface as we are driving along. It’s so easy to forget the ones that sit quietly in the back – but in this case, they have important data to contribute!
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By NASA
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Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA’s C-130, now under new ownership, sits ready for its final departure from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on Friday, April 18, 2025. NASA/Garon Clark NASA’s C-130 Hercules, fondly known as the Herc, went wheels up at 9:45 a.m., Friday, April 18, as it departed from its decade-long home at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, for the final time. The aircraft is embarking on a new adventure to serve and protect in the state of California where it is now under the ownership of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
The transition of the C-130 to CAL FIRE is part of a long-running, NASA-wide aircraft enterprise-management activity to consolidate the aircraft fleet and achieve greater operational efficiencies while reducing the agency’s infrastructure footprint.
The C-130 Hercules takes off for the final time from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.NASA/Garon Clark “Our C-130 and the team behind it has served with great distinction over the past decade,” said David L. Pierce, Wallops Flight Facility director. “While our time with this amazing airframe has come to a close, I’m happy to see it continue serving the nation in this new capacity with CAL FIRE.”
The research and cargo aircraft, built in 1986, was acquired by NASA in 2015. Over the past decade, the C-130 supported the agency’s airborne scientific research, provided logistics support and movement of agency cargo, and supported technology demonstration missions. The aircraft logged approximately 1,820 flight hours in support of missions across the world during its time with the agency.
Additional aircraft housed at NASA Wallops will be relocated to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, in the coming months.
For more information on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, visit: www.nasa.gov/wallops.
By Olivia Littleton
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.
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Last Updated Apr 18, 2025 EditorOlivia F. LittletonLocationWallops Flight Facility Related Terms
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