NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has captured stunning images of high-altitude, wispy clouds gracing the Martian sky above Gale Crater. This celestial spectacle signals the arrival of autumn on the Red Planet, a season marked by the return of these beautiful, translucent formations that become illuminated by the low sun angle at sunset.
A New Martian Year and Seasonal Shifts
The rover’s recent observations, spanning Martian days (sols) 5036-5042, coincided with the start of a new Martian year. This new year begins with the northern hemisphere’s spring, or vernal equinox, and is tracked by measuring degrees of solar longitude. As Mars completes its 360-degree orbit around the Sun, each season spans 90 degrees. The beginning of Martian year 39, at a solar longitude of 0 degrees (Ls=0°), occurred at the end of September on Earth. This celestial timing means that Gale Crater, located just south of the equator, is now experiencing autumn.
Curiosity’s Ongoing Mission and Atmospheric Wonders
This week’s activities for Curiosity focused on concluding a drill campaign at a location named “Basque Lakes.” After analyzing the results from previous lab activities, the rover’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite was tasked with an additional Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) experiment. Despite GCMS being an energy-intensive process, the rover had ample time over four sols to conduct this alongside remote-sensing observations from its Mastcam and ChemCam instruments, and to analyze the leftover rock and mineral fragments, known as drill tailings, from its sampling. The rover is preparing for a drive back towards the intriguing crystal formations observed in the “Chiu Chiu” region.
While the rover diligently carries out its scientific investigations, the Martian atmosphere is also undergoing its seasonal transitions. The onset of autumn brings the return of high-altitude twilight clouds. Though often too thin to be seen by the human eye or even Curiosity’s robotic cameras, these twilight clouds are bright enough to be captured in the rover’s Navcam images, offering a breathtaking glimpse of atmospheric activity. The mission team anticipates further opportunities to observe these ethereal clouds as the Martian autumn progresses.
Source: NASA
