Gale Crater Archives

The Perseverance rover on Mars inspects a rock dubbed Cheyava Falls with the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument on its robotic arm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware

Organic Carbon Detected In The Bright Angel Formation On Mars

by Keith CowingJune 25, 2026June 25, 2026

In September of last year, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin.

Mars

Energy-Limited Radiolytic Habitability in the Shallow Martian Subsurface: Implications for ExoMars Rosalind Franklin and Tianwen-3

by Keith CowingJune 24, 2026June 24, 2026

The surface of Mars is sterilized by ionizing radiation and pervasive oxidants; its shallow subsurface, shielded from ultraviolet light and the most reactive oxidation, may instead preserve habitable conditions.

An artist rendering of the Curiosity rover with its scientific instruments labeled. Scientists used the Chemistry and Minerology (CheMin) instrument to perform X-ray diffraction analysis on samples of powdered rock. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

NASA Uses Mineralogical Marker to Understand Ancient Martian Climate

by Keith CowingJune 1, 2026June 1, 2026

While NASA imagery has shown evidence of ancient rivers and lakes on Mars that transitioned to dry dunes, uncertainty remains over the timing of the environmental changes that may have […]

SAM is the most complex instrument ever sent on a planetary mission. Principal Investigator Paul Mahaffy leads the project from Goddard in collaboration with 51 co-investigators and 28 institutions including the University of Paris and The French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique that provided the Gas Chromatograph. Credit GSFC.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Diverse Organic Molecules On Mars Revealed By The First SAM TMAH Experiment

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2026May 1, 2026

The search for organic matter on Mars has rapidly evolved in the past decade with simple aromatic, S-heterocycles, and aliphatic organic molecules detected in Gale crater.

TOP - NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree view of a region filled with low ridges called boxwork formations between Nov. 9 and Dec. 7, 2025. At 1.5 billion pixels, this is one of the largest panoramas Curiosity has ever taken. Larger image BOTTOM - NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this 360-degree panorama of a region nicknamed “Crocodile Bridge” on the rim of Jezero Crater. This region holds some of the oldest rocks anywhere in the solar system. Larger image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

NASA’s Perseverance, Curiosity Panoramas Capture Two Sides of Mars

by Keith CowingApril 28, 2026April 28, 2026

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have captured two 360-degree landscapes that highlight how the missions are revealing details of the Red Planet’s formation, watery past, and potential for life (astrobiology).

Compilation of the seasonal variation of the maximum (red markers), minimum (blue markers), and average (green markers) temperatures inside CheMin based on interior platinum resistance thermocouple number 2615 data including all drill holes up to “Kings Canyon” (sol 4266). Diurnal maximum ground temperatures for the first 2500 sols reported by Martínez et al. (2021) are plotted as gray circles. -- JGR Planets

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report

Rover-Induced Mineral Transformations: Extent of the Effect for the Mars Science Laboratory and Opportunities for Future Landed Mission

by Keith CowingApril 27, 2026April 27, 2026

X-ray amorphous sulfate hydrates are a substantial component (up to 23 wt%) of the sedimentary rocks and sands analyzed to date by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover at Gale […]

A closer view of the supercritical climbing wind ripples that provide direct evidence of a sandstorm, roughly three and a half billion years ago. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Serendipitous Discovery Of Martian Ripple Marks Reveals An Ancient Sandstorm

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

The search for life on Mars involves the efforts of scientists from many different disciplines. An important aspect of that search is to study Martian sedimentary rocks for information about […]

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

DNA Fragments Could Survive In Martian Rocks For More Than 100 Million Years

by Keith CowingMarch 24, 2026March 24, 2026

The Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, has led a study published in Communications Earth and Environment, showing that if life had ever emerged on Mars, DNA fragments could be preserved […]

(Left) Predicted concretion diameter for different nucleation density scaling exponents α. For α ≤ 1, diffusion controls at the Mars dust grain size and predictions match observations (green band). For α ≥ 1.5, nucleation dominates even at 3 µm, predicting concretions well below the observed range, ruled out by the data. (Right) Crossover grain size as a function of α (log scale). Green region: diffusion-limited zone (crossover above Mars dust at 3 µm). Pink region: nucleation-limited zone. The graincontact derivation (dotted line, α = 1) sits within the diffusion-limited zone, consistent with observations. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Mars, Status Report

Martian Concretion Sizes Predicted From Two Independently Constrained Inputs: Atmospheric Dust Grain Size And Obliquity-forced Wetting Duration

by Keith CowingMarch 13, 2026March 13, 2026

Diagenetic concretions have been identified at multiple widely separated sites on Mars, including Meridiani Planum (Opportunity), Gale crater (Curiosity), and Jezero crater (Perseverance).

ID: ESP_076745_1750,date: 10 December 2022, altitude: 268 km larger image NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

A Canyon Channel In Gale Crater On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

This observation features an upper section of a canyon channel system that incising Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. A HiRISE image was requested as the canyon system is analogous to […]