Image Gallery: Curiosity at Murray Buttes (part 2)

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Sol 1431. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Thomas Appéré

The Curiosity rover is continuing to travel through the ancient and eroded buttes and mesas which are part of the Murray Buttes formation. Very reminiscent of the terrain in the desert regions of the American southwest. Included are a couple new panoramas, processed by Thomas Appéré. All images are available on the mission website.

Read MoreImage Gallery: Curiosity at Murray Buttes (part 2)

Image Gallery: Curiosity at Murray Buttes

Curiosity arrives at Murray Buttes. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/James Sorenson
Curiosity arrives at Murray Buttes. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/James Sorenson

The Curiosity rover has been sending back some beautiful images of the Murray Buttes which it has now reached, near the base of Mount Sharp, on Mars. There are many buttes and mesas in this region, including in the foothills of the mountain itself. The current header graphic for the blog is also part of a new panoramic image of the buttes, processed by James Sorenson. All images are available on the mission website.

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Viking remembered: Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first search for life on Mars

Iconic painting of a Viking lander on Mars, prior to launch. The sampling arm reaches into the foreground. Image Credit: Charles Bennett/Lockheed Martin (Martin Marietta)
Iconic painting of a Viking lander on Mars, prior to launch. The sampling arm reaches into the foreground. Image Credit: Charles Bennett/Lockheed Martin (Martin Marietta)

July 20, 1976, will be forever remembered by space enthusiasts. On that day, Viking 1 became the first U.S. spacecraft to land on another planet – in this case, Mars (the USSR Venera 9 spacecraft landed on Venus in 1975). That lander, and Viking 2 which followed it Sept. 3, 1976, paved the way for more complex missions later on, which would begin to finally unlock some of the secrets of the mysterious Red Planet. The two Viking landers, and their counterpart orbiters, were genuine trailblazers, opening up the vast Martian landscape to robotic and human eyes for the first time.

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Mars rovers update: Curiosity turns toward Mount Sharp, Opportunity finishes in Marathon Valley

Self-portrait of the Curiosity rover at the drill site called Okoruso, on Naukluft Plateau. The image was taken on May 11, 2016, (sol 1,338). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
Self-portrait of the Curiosity rover at the drill site called Okoruso, on Naukluft Plateau. The image was taken on May 11, 2016, (sol 1,338). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s current rovers, Curiosity and Opportunity, are continuing to explore their respective regions of Mars, with new findings that are providing yet more clues as to the geological history and potential past habitability of this fascinating world. They have also both just completed significant steps in their journeys and are now entering new and exciting phases of their missions. Both missions have found yet more evidence that the Mars we see today – cold and dry – was once much wetter and potentially habitable, at least for microorganisms.

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Back to the Moon? New House bill defunds NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission

Artist’s conception of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The new House bill directs NASA to bypass this mission and return to the Moon instead, before going to Mars. Image Credit: NASA
Artist’s conception of the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). The new House bill directs NASA to bypass this mission and return to the Moon instead, before going to Mars. Image Credit: NASA

Sending human astronauts to Mars is a dream shared by many, but there are still challenges to overcome and the question of just how to accomplish it is a subject of intense debate. Some supporters advocate sending a mission directly to Mars, while others think that returning to the Moon first, for potentially beneficial training, is the way to go. Indeed, former astronaut James Lovell, who flew on two trips to the Moon, has also called for a return to the Moon first. NASA itself has stated its desire to send a crewed mission to a nearby asteroid first, instead of the Moon, going a bit farther into space than the Moon as its idea of preparation for the much longer journey to Mars. A major problem has been that NASA has still not set a firm timetable for such a mission; it wants to go to Mars, but the steps to achieving that goal are still unclear.

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