NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has finally arrived at Gediz Vallis Ridge after a 3-year journey, the remnant of a powerful debris flows that carried mud and boulders down the side of a large mountain three billion years ago, one of the last wet periods on Mars. This debris was spread out and was later eroded by wind into a towering ridge.
Previous attempts were thwarted by knife-edged gator-back rocks and extremely steep slopes. Curiosity has been climbing the lower part of 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp since 2014, finding evidence of ancient lakes and streams along the way. The different layers of the mountain that you see represent multiple eras of Martian history and as the rover climbs, scientists will learn more about how the landscape changed over time.
- Feed a passion for science and technology – Kids can learn more about the challenges of space exploration with this LEGO Technic NASA Mars Rover...
- Conduct a test flight – This advanced building kit for kids ages 10 and up includes a buildable toy version of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which...
- AR brings the mission to life – The accompanying augmented reality app experience lets kids dive into the details of the rover and its mission
I can’t imagine what it would have been like to witness these events. Huge rocks were ripped out of the mountain high above, rushed downhill, and spread out into a fan below. The results of this campaign will push us to better explain such events not just on Mars, but even on Earth, where they are a natural hazard,” said William Dietrich, Geologist and Mission Team Member at the University of California, Berkeley.
