Free Astronomy Magazine March-April 2021

30 MARCH-APRIL 2021 MARS ROVERS A rippled linear dune of dark Martian sand dominates this full-circle panorama from the Mastcam of Curiosity. [NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS] being destroyed by excessive radiation from space or terres- trial natural phenom- ena, such as volca- nism. Curiosity is studying the carbon and water cycles of Mars throughout its history. In particular, it seeks to determine in what form and quantity the most in- teresting elements and compounds are stored on the planet or in its atmosphere and how these values have varied over time. The second objective is the characteriza- tion of the ancient climatic pro- cesses of Mars. In the past, the pla- net was warmer and could have supported a denser and wetter at- mosphere capable of supporting microbial life. But now, with a thin- ner and colder atmosphere, much of the Martian water has left the surface and the atmosphere. Most T his animation shows the position of NASA’s Curios- ity rover as it journeyed 1,106 feet (337 meters) through an area of Mount Sharp called “the clay-bear- ing unit” between May 31 and July 20, 2019. Each of these two images were taken by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. [NASA/JPL-Cal- tech/University of Arizona] so requires small amounts of other elements, such as iron, along with sources of energy. On Earth, this en- ergy comes from sunlight or elec- trons moving back and forth be- tween elements and compounds in nature. Life also requires a suffi- ciently stable and protective envi- ronment to take hold to avoid