NASA's Curiosity Rover Catches Stunning Martian Dawn
- On Aug. 11, 2026, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured a detailed panorama of wind-carved crags called yardangs, revealing features scientists have long awaited to view up close.
- These yardangs formed about 3 billion years ago after sediment hardened into rock; eons of wind erosion subsequently carved the layer into ridges, said planetary scientist Ashwin Vasavada of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
- The yardang layer appears "plastered on" and distinct from Mount Sharp's layer-cake structure, according to Vasavada, sitting above an unconformity where previous layers eroded before new material deposited.
- Vasavada compared the orange sky and blue sunrise to Monument Valley, Arizona, noting the scene's wildness. "It's like Earth, but it's definitely Mars," he said.
- NASA hopes Curiosity will reach the yardang layer by 2027 or 2028 to scrutinize its geology, while the rover has already climbed 1 kilometer in elevation, the most ever achieved on the Red Planet.
130 Articles
130 Articles
Martian dawn pic from Curiosity rover highlights cliffs and crags
On October 6, 2026, NASA released an image of Martian dawn from the Curiosity rover. The image captures a pale light illuminating distant cliffs and crags. The post Martian dawn pic from Curiosity rover highlights cliffs and crags first appeared on EarthSky.
NASA has released a stunning video of a sunrise on Mars, with panoramic images captured by the Curiosity rover's camera. The photos of dawn in Gale Crater on the Red Planet were taken on August 11, 2026, at 8:30 a.m., and were stitched together into a video after being transmitted to Earth. Sunrises on Mars (and sunsets) are characterized by an eerie blue hue around the sun's disk. This phenomenon is the exact opposite of what happens on Earth…
Sunlight illuminates jagged rock formations on the horizon in a new image of Mars released by NASA. The image was captured by the Mars Curiosity rover about an hour after sunrise with its Mastcam camera as the rover continued its climb up Mount Sharp. Wind-sculpted rocks are visible in the distance. They are part of a layer that is significantly different from other layers the rover has traversed. The formations are known as yardangs, ridges cre…
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