NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured images of a mound of rock on Mount Sharp called “East Cliffs” that features a fracture that resembles a doo

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Spots a “Doorway” on Mars

submited by
Style Pass
2022-05-27 02:00:04

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured images of a mound of rock on Mount Sharp called “East Cliffs” that features a fracture that resembles a doorway. Because of its small size — about 12 inches by 16 inches — some call it a “dog door.” Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA ’s Curiosity Mars rover used its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, to capture this mound of rock nicknamed “East Cliffs” on May 7, 2022, the 3,466th sol, or Martian day, of the mission. The mound, on Mount Sharp, has a number of naturally occurring open fractures – including one roughly 12 inches (30 centimeters) tall and 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide, similar in size to a dog door. These kinds of open fractures are common in bedrock, both on Earth and on Mars.

Curiosity is currently investigating a region on Mount Sharp that may hold evidence of a major change from wetter to drier conditions in Mars’ early history.

Leave a Comment