Curiosity rover Archives

Astrobiologist Kennda Lynch examining microbial mats in the Pilot Valley Basin, a paleolake basin in Utah cited in this new study - in an earlier, separate NASA expedition in 2017. Photo credit: NASA Astrobiology Institute

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Analytical Methodology to Reveal Biosignatures on Mars and Ocean Worlds

by Keith CowingOctober 29, 2025October 29, 2025

Terrestrial analog environments and their microbial communities are key elements to prepare for the exploration of extraterrestrial planetary environments that potentially sustained, or even may still sustain, the (bio)chemistry necessary […]

For the second stage of our analysis pipeline, outputs were further evaluated using a livability index L (scaled between 0 and 1). Among the 51 Mars-positive samples, the mean livability index was 0.417, with scores clustering at a midrange band of 0.31-0.48 (Table 5). These results suggest that most images were neutrally classified with the model neither stating high nor low livability rates across the tested data. Dust warnings were found to be common, with twenty-four samples flagged as “Warning” , twenty-five as “Caution” , and two as “Severe” (Table 6). -- eartharxiv.org

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

A Computer Vision Framework For Estimating Surface Habitability From Mars Using Convolutional Analysis

by Keith CowingOctober 28, 2025October 28, 2025

Identifying signs of life in extraterrestrial environments is one of the growing challenges in planetary science. Conventional approaches of detecting habitability rely heavily on direct contact with biosignatures or geological […]

Astrogeology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Curiosity Rover ChemCam Views A Rock Shaped By Eons of Wind And Water

by Keith CowingSeptember 1, 2025September 1, 2025

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of its robotic arm, to view this wind-eroded rock shaped like a piece of […]

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... Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

The Mars Curiosity Astrobiology Droid Keeps Getting Smarter

by Keith CowingAugust 4, 2025August 4, 2025

New capabilities allow the rover to do science with less energy from its batteries.

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured this photo as it ascended the Martian mountain Mt. Sharp. A study proposes a new explanation for why Mars is a barren desert today, despite having many similarities to Earth. Credit Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Was Mars Doomed To Be A Desert? Study Proposes A New Explanation

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2025August 23, 2025

One of the great unsolved problems in modern planetary science is written on the surface of Mars.

The Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover includes temperature and humidity sensors mounted on the rover's mast. One of the REMS booms extends to the left from the mast in this view. Spain provided REMS to NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Project. The monitoring station has provided information about air pressure, relative humidity, air temperature, ground temperature, wind and ultraviolet radiation in all Martian seasons and at all times of day or night. This view is a detail from a January 2015 Curiosity self-portrait. The self-portrait, at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19142, was assembled from images taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager.

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Radiation, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Ultraviolet And Biological Effective Dose Observations At Gale Crater, Mars

by Keith CowingMay 19, 2025May 19, 2025

The incident ultraviolet (UV) irradiance on the surface of Mars is strongly sterilizing and plays a critical role in atmospheric and near-surface photochemistry.

NASA’s Curiosity rover appears as a dark speck in this contrast-enhanced view captured on Feb. 28, 2025, by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Trailing Curiosity are the rover’s tracks, which can linger on the Martian surface for months before being erased by the wind. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona -- Larger image

Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spots Curiosity Rover Making Tracks to Next Science Stop

by Keith CowingApril 24, 2025

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has never been camera shy, having been seen in selfies and images taken from space. But on Feb. 28 — the 4,466th Martian day, or sol, […]

Schematic illustration of our proposed carbon cycle on early Mars. Evaporation of water (pink shading) from subsurface pore spaces initially deposits siderite, which sequesters atmospheric CO2 (black downward arrow). Increasing levels of evaporation deposit Ca-sulfate and Mg-sulfate minerals. Wind-blown (eolian) sedimentation at the ground surface (gray dots) moves the location of evaporation and chemical sedimentation upward with time. After some time (white arrow), infiltration of siderite-undersaturated fluids (yellow shading) partially destroys the previously precipitated siderite, forming Fe-oxyhydroxides and releasing previous

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Carbonates Identified By The Curiosity Rover Indicate A Carbon Cycle Operated On Ancient Mars

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2025

Ancient Mars had surface liquid water and a dense carbon dioxide (CO2)–rich atmosphere. Such an atmosphere would interact with crustal rocks, potentially leaving a mineralogical record of its presence.

This image from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover, a fusion-processed SuperCam Remote Micro Imager (RMI) mosaic, shows part of the “St. Pauls Bay” target, acquired from the lower Witch Hazel Hill area of the Jezero crater rim. The image reveals hundreds of strange, spherical-shaped objects comprising the rock. Perseverance acquired this image on March 11, 2025, or sol 1442 — Martian day 1,442 of the Mars 2020 mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/IRAP. Larger image

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Mars Perseverance Examines A Rock With Hundreds Of Millimeter-sized Spheres

by Keith CowingMarch 25, 2025March 25, 2025

Last week the Perseverance Science Team were astonished by a strange rock comprised of hundreds of millimeter-sized spheres and the team are now working hard to understand their origin.

This graphic shows the long-chain organic molecules decane, undecane, and dodecane. These are the largest organic molecules discovered on Mars to date. They were detected in a drilled rock sample called “Cumberland” that was analyzed by the Sample Analysis at Mars lab inside the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover. The rover, whose selfie is on the right side of the image, has been exploring Gale Crater since 2012. An image of the Cumberland drill hole is faintly visible in the background of the molecule chains. NASA/Dan Gallagher

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 24, 2025March 24, 2025

Researchers analyzing pulverized rock onboard NASA’s Curiosity rover have found the largest organic compounds on the Red Planet to date. The finding, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National […]

Curiosity rover

New Analytical Methodology to Reveal Biosignatures on Mars and Ocean Worlds

A Computer Vision Framework For Estimating Surface Habitability From Mars Using Convolutional Analysis

Curiosity Rover ChemCam Views A Rock Shaped By Eons of Wind And Water

The Mars Curiosity Astrobiology Droid Keeps Getting Smarter

Was Mars Doomed To Be A Desert? Study Proposes A New Explanation

Ultraviolet And Biological Effective Dose Observations At Gale Crater, Mars

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spots Curiosity Rover Making Tracks to Next Science Stop

Carbonates Identified By The Curiosity Rover Indicate A Carbon Cycle Operated On Ancient Mars

Mars Perseverance Examines A Rock With Hundreds Of Millimeter-sized Spheres

Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found On Mars

Offworld Astrogeology Training In Iceland

Martian Geology: Possible Evidence Of Glacial Processes

Autonomous Multi-Agent Reconstruction of Prebiotic Reaction Networks Reveals Organizational Features of Amino Acid Synthesis

Astrobiology In A Mesophilic Tropical Country: A Database And A Review Of Analog Environments In Brazil

Is A Constitutive Red-shift An Advantage For Oxygenic Photosynthesis Under M Dwarf Starlight? Insights From Acaryochloris Marina sp. str. Moss Beach