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Nasa

Nasa's Curiosity rover has sent back some holiday pics from Mars

The planet’s layered geologic past is shown in new color images returned by the unmanned rover, which is exploring lower Mount Sharp.

NASA HAS RELEASED new images of rock formations shot by their Curiosity rover, which is currently traversing the Red Planet.

The layered geological past of Mars is laid bare in the new colour images returned by the unmanned rover, which is currently exploring the ‘Murray Buttes’ region of lower Mount Sharp.

Curiosity took the images with its Mast Camera two days ago.

“Curiosity’s science team has been just thrilled to go on this road trip through a bit of the American desert Southwest on Mars,” said Curiosity project scientist Ashwin Vasavada, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

The Martian buttes and mesas rising above the surface are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone that originated when winds deposited sand after the formation of lower Mount Sharp.

Mars 2 A sloping hillside within the 'Murray Buttes' region on lower Mount Sharp. The rim of Gale Crater, where the rover has been active since landing in 2012, is visible in the distance, through the dusty haze. Nasa Nasa

Groundwater

Vasavada added:

Studying these buttes up close has given us a better understanding of ancient sand dunes that formed and were buried, chemically changed by groundwater, exhumed and eroded to form the landscape that we see today.

The new images represent Curiosity’s last stop in the Murray Buttes, where the rover has been driving for just over a month.

Drilling campaign

As of this week, Curiosity has exited these buttes toward the south, driving up to the base of the final butte on its way out. In this location, the rover began its latest drilling campaign on 9 Sept.

Mars 4 A hillside outcrop with layered rocks within the 'Murray Buttes' region on lower Mount Sharp, Mars. Nasa Nasa

After this drilling is completed, Curiosity will continue farther south and higher up Mount Sharp, leaving behind these spectacular formations.

Ancient lakes

Curiosity landed near Mount Sharp in 2012.

It reached the base of the mountain in 2014 after successfully finding evidence on the surrounding plains that ancient Martian lakes offered conditions that would have been favorable for microbes if Mars has ever hosted life.

Mars 3 Sloping buttes and layered outcrops on lower Mount Sharp. The buttes and mesas rising above the surface are eroded remnants of ancient sandstone that originated when winds deposited sand after lower Mount Sharp had formed. The layer is called the 'Stimson formation'. The layering within the sandstone is called cross-bedding, indicating that the sandstone was deposited by wind as migrating sand dunes. Nasa Nasa

Rock layers forming the base of Mount Sharp accumulated as sediment within ancient lakes billions of years ago.

On Mount Sharp, Curiosity is investigating how and when the habitable ancient conditions known from the mission’s earlier findings evolved into conditions drier and less favourable for life.

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31 Comments
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    Mute Sean
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    Sep 10th 2016, 12:48 PM

    Awesome.

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    Sep 10th 2016, 1:02 PM

    Amazing. Mankind at its best.

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    Mute aboutallthethings
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    Sep 10th 2016, 1:05 PM

    Fantastic stuff. And hopefully some day someone will stand there and see for themselves what the rover saw. That’s what we are, explorers. Always wanting to see “what’s over there”.

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    Mute Cathal McDonald
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    Sep 10th 2016, 1:14 PM

    Too late. Matt Damon did it last year. Even grew spuds up there

    174
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    Mute aboutallthethings
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    Sep 10th 2016, 1:23 PM

    Spending a fortune saving that Fella from all sorts of trouble!

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    Mute Gunnarsahn
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    Sep 10th 2016, 2:27 PM

    were they queens or what kind of spud?

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    Mute aboutallthethings
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    Sep 10th 2016, 3:01 PM

    Ker pinks I’d say, they would grow in anything!

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    Mute dublinlad
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    Sep 11th 2016, 1:36 AM

    Some carrots and you’d be all set.

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    Mute Daniel Murray
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    Sep 11th 2016, 2:16 AM

    They were a new species of Whites.. called Shites potatoes.

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    Mute Liam Dunne
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    Sep 10th 2016, 2:38 PM

    Wheres the bird with the 3 boobs?

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    Mute Dylan Neary
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    Sep 10th 2016, 2:41 PM

    She got sucked out to space I think

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    Mute Seán J. Troy
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    Sep 10th 2016, 3:40 PM

    As a geologist myself I have to say, that cross bedding is beautiful.

    Shame there isn’t a hammer or an undergraduate for scale though…….

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    Mute alphanautica
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    Sep 10th 2016, 1:23 PM

    So many ancient artifacts in those photos; no doubt left from the civilisation that lived on Mars before they had to escape to colonise Earth, our true ancestors.

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    Mute The Clarifier
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    Sep 10th 2016, 2:08 PM

    Looks remarkably similar to places on our own planet. I mean so similar the photos could almost have been taken here

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    Mute TehJurolan
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    Sep 10th 2016, 2:16 PM

    Well, that settles it, there IS life on Mars. That top pic clearly shows a handbag amongst those rocks.

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    Mute Winston Smith
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    Sep 10th 2016, 6:02 PM

    The bottom right of that top picture seems to show an ancient Egyptian type weathered bust…If Martians were that ugly maybe that expalins why they died out!

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    Mute Charles Williams
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    Sep 10th 2016, 9:29 PM

    We have an even nicer planet here on Earth, we should be more careful with it for the short period we are it on loan.

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    Mute John Reese
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    Sep 10th 2016, 6:22 PM

    Is there an Irish bar up there ?

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    Mute Patrick Mac
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    Sep 10th 2016, 6:40 PM

    Yes John, its called the Mars bar, hehe.

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    Mute Eoin Leonard
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    Sep 10th 2016, 3:21 PM

    There’s absolutely no way that those rovers are on Mars.

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    Mute Gary
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    Sep 10th 2016, 3:32 PM

    Eoin, if you say so then it must be correct. I’ll be looking forward to your paper explaining your scientific reasoning for your claim.

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    Mute Niall Lonergan
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    Sep 10th 2016, 9:19 PM

    Well obviously Jesus, 9/11 and the Illuminati.

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    Mute Patrick Mac
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    Sep 11th 2016, 1:03 AM

    You must be a follower of the religion of Scientism Gary.

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    Mute Patrick Mac
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    Sep 11th 2016, 2:30 AM
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    Mute damien forkin
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    Sep 10th 2016, 4:53 PM

    Looks like shit enough craic up there.

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    Mute Patrick Mac
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    Sep 11th 2016, 1:01 AM

    I remember being on holiday in America years ago, in Arizona. Those pictures look just like it.

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    Mute Nydon
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    Sep 10th 2016, 1:34 PM

    Where’s this one gorn? https://goo.gl/images/tJcFv4

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    Mute RJ.Fallon
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    Sep 10th 2016, 4:02 PM

    John Carter has lived there for years, has a wife and son there. (according to E.R.Burrows)

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    Mute Niall Lonergan
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    Sep 10th 2016, 9:20 PM

    Well the movie version has grounded him on Earth for life after the box office takings. I’ll be on Mars before he will.

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    Mute RJ.Fallon
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    Sep 11th 2016, 12:32 AM

    Sorry, E.R.Burroughs.

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