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NASA's Curiosity rover captures its movement toward a region shaped by ancient groundwater, offering new clues about Mars' past.
A historic image captured by NASA marked a new breakthrough in Mars exploration. On February 28, 2025, the camera HiRISE, on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), recorded a small spot in front of a long trail of tracks, over 320 meters long.
These tracks represent the Curiosity rover's journey toward its next scientific destination. The image is part of a recent report by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from NASA and reinforces the rover's persistence in unraveling the ancient mysteries of the red planet.
The image could be the first to show the rover in motion, representing a major advance in observation technology. policy. The visible trails on the Martian surface should last for months before being erased by the wind.
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Following Curiosity's journey
The Curiosity rover's mission began in 2012. Since then, it has traveled more than a thousand different routes across the surface of Mars. Each move is carefully planned by engineers, in collaboration with scientists who define the day's tasks.
The path shown in the HiRISE image corresponds to a series of 11 trips made since February 2. During these trips, the rover moves at a maximum speed of 0,16 km/h, or 0,1 miles per hour. The goal is to reach a new study region that is considered scientifically promising.
This area, which Curiosity is approaching, is characterized by box-shaped formations. Researchers believe these structures were formed by ancient groundwater billions of years ago. Studying them could reveal essential information about the history of water on Mars and the possibility of microbial life in the distant past.
A pioneer in Martian exploration
Since landing on Mars, Curiosity has made impressive progress. Its main goal is to investigate the surface, understand the geology, analyze the atmosphere and search for signs of past life.
Throughout the mission, Curiosity brought important discoveries, including confirmation of the existence of ancient lakes and the identification of organic molecules on the Martian surface.
Despite its low speed, precision in navigation is one of the rover's strengths. Equipped with advanced cameras and scientific instruments, it is capable of performing a variety of tasks.
In addition to analyzing rocks, Curiosity also captures images, including selfies that document its journey.
Doug Ellison, head of the Curiosity planning team at JPL, highlighted the precision of the work: “TheComparing the time HiRISE took the image with the rover's commands for the day, we can see that it was almost ready with a displacement of 21 meterss. "
This tight control of the rover’s movements is essential to ensure it is always on the right path, overcoming the challenges of Mars’ uneven terrain.
Towards new discoveries
Recording Curiosity's tracks reinforces the rover's constant movement toward new areas of scientific exploration. At the moment, he climbs a steep slope to reach a region of great interest to scientists.
This next stop could offer important clues about Mars' ancient climate and the history of water on the planet.
Box-shaped formations, shaped by groundwater activity, are considered strategic targets for this study.
JPL’s planning team is attentive to the challenges of the terrain. Working closely with scientists, they adjust the rover’s route as needed to ensure the safety and efficiency of the mission.
The importance of the mission
The Curiosity mission remains a milestone in space exploration. More than a decade after its landing, the rover is still able to provide important data about Mars.
Their discoveries feed scientific knowledge about the possibility of past life and help to better understand the planet's climate evolution.
Each new destination reached by Curiosity represents an opportunity to answer fundamental questions about Mars.
The presence of water, past environmental conditions and the possibility of life are central themes in research conducted with the support of data sent by the rover.
As Curiosity continues its slow but precise journey, new discoveries are expected to emerge in the coming weeks. The mission keeps alive the hope of unlocking the secrets of the red planet and expanding humanity's understanding of the universe.
With the help of detailed images like the one captured by HiRISE, space science continues to advance, step by step, track by track, on the Martian soil.
