NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover finished analyzing samples from its 12th drill from mudstone bedrock. After that, the rover is set to continue its journey towards the popular Martian landmark, Mount Sharp.

Samples from the lower level of Mount Sharp have also been procured and analyzed by Curiosity. Along its routes, the rover also analyzed samples of sand dunes and sandstones.

The Curiosity rover recently sent "selfies" from the Naukluft Plateau where it also gathered samples for its 10th and 11th drill.

"Now that we've skirted our way around the dunes and crossed the plateau, we've turned south to climb the mountain head-on," Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada, said in a press release.

"Since landing, we've been aiming for this gap in the terrain and this left turn. It's a great moment for the mission."

The rover landed near Mount Sharp in 2012 and then took some two years before it reached the foot of the mountain, conducting experiments and surviving harsh terrains along the way. With the rover, factual evidence of Martian lakes, conducive to live microbes, had been discovered.

Curiosity also tackled parts of the Murray formation.

"The story that the Murray formation is revealing about the habitability of ancient Mars is one of the mission's surprises," Vasavada said in a statement. "It wasn't obvious from pre-mission data that it formed in long-lived lakes and that its diverse composition would tell us about the chemistry of those lakes and later groundwater."

After its drilling duties and investigating the unusual occurrence, such as prevalent haloes in formations below Mount Sharp, Curiosity is now on its way to Mount Sharp. It will investigate how and when the habitable ancient conditions evolved when it arrived on top of Mount Sharp. 

NASA is hopeful that with the help of the Mars Curiosity Rover, scientists can tell how the Martian planet turned into a drier and "less favorable for life" state that it is today.

 

Tags Mars, Martian, Curiosity rover, Mars Curiosity Rover, NASA, Red Planet

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