Finely layered rocks in the "Murrey formation" layer of Mount Sharp (Mount Aeolis Mons). Credit: NASA
Since its deployment in 2012 on the surface of Mars, it has sent back many spectacular images of the Red Planet. In addition to photographing Earth from the surface of Mars, not to mention some remarkable ones, the rover also captured countless photographs showing the geological structure and surface features of Mars in great detail.
And with the latest photos released by NASA, the Curiosity rover has given us a great view of the "Murrey Buttes" region located at the bottom of Mount Sharp. These images were taken by Curiosity on September 8 and provide a wonderful insight into the geological history of the region.
With these photos, the Curiosity team hopes to assemble another color mosaic that provides a detailed look at the region's rocks and desert landscape. As you can see from the photographs provided, the region is characterized by plateaus (table mountains) and outcrops, which are the eroded remains of ancient sandstone. Much like other sites around Mount Sharp, this area is of particular interest to the Curiosity team.
Rolling hills and layered outcrops in the Murray Formation of Mount Sharp. Credit: NASA
Over the years, scientists have realized that the layers of rock that form the base of Mount Sharp were accumulated by sediment deposited on the bottom of an ancient lake billions of years ago. Due to this, the geological formations are similar to those found in the desert regions of the southwestern United States.
Alvin Vasavada, Curiosity program scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said:
"The Murray Buttes region of Mars is reminiscent of the southwestern United States because of its outcroppings and mesas. In both areas, thick sedimentary layers were deposited by wind and water, eventually creating a layer cake of rock that was then exposed to erosion when conditions changed. In both places, layers of more resistant sandstone cover the mesas and outcrops because they protect the more easily eroded, fine-grained rocks underneath."
"Like Monument Valley near the Utah-Arizona border, Murray Buttes has only small remnants of these layers that once covered the entire surface. Both locations had wind-driven sand dunes, the same as what now appears "like crisscrossing layers of sandstone. There are, of course, many differences between Mars and the American southwest. For example, the southwest had large inland seas, while lakes existed in the southwest."
These sedimentary layers are believed to have been laid down over 2 billion years, and may have completely filled the crater at one point. Since lakes and streams are thought to have existed in Gale Crater 3.3-3.8 billion years ago, some of the lower sediment layers may have originally been deposited on the lake floor.
A hillside outcrop of finely laminated rocks in the Murray Formation below Mount Sharp. Credit: NASA
For this reason, the Curiosity team also collected drill samples from the Murray Buttes area for analysis. It began on September 9 after the rover finished photographing the surrounding area. As Vasavada explained:
"The Curiosity team drills regularly as the rover climbs Mount Sharp. We drill into the fine-grained rock that was present in the lakes to see how the chemistry of the lake, and therefore the environment, changed over time. Curiosity drilled into the coarse-grained sandstone , forming the upper layers of the remnants as the rover crossed the Naukluft Plateau earlier this year."
Once drilling is complete, Curiosity will continue to move further south and higher up Mount Sharp, leaving these beautiful formations behind. These photos show Curiosity's final stop at Murray Buttes, where the rover has spent the last month.
By September 11, 2016, Curiosity had spent only 4 years and 36 days (1497 days) on the planet Mars.
One has to wonder how people using pareidolia are going to interpret all of this? After "seeing" a rat, a lizard, a donut, a coffin, etc., what is left? May I suggest that the photo above looks like a pillar statue?
Title of the article you read "Stunning new images of Mars from the Curiosity rover".
While man is just preparing to land on Mars, automatic stations are in full swing on the surface of the Red Planet, and artificial satellites fly in its orbit, compiling a detailed map of the surface of the fourth planet from the Sun. We present a selection of the 10 best photographs of Mars and its surface, which make the distant planet a little closer.
A photograph of the surface of Mars along with Valles Marineris, a giant system of canyons that were formed during the formation of the planet. To get one coherent image, scientists had to put together more than 100 separate images transmitted to Earth by the Viking 2 spacecraft.
The Victoria impact crater, about 800 meters in diameter, was photographed by the Opportunity rover on October 16, 2006. Sending such a high-quality image to Earth is not an easy task. It took three whole weeks to obtain all the components of this image.
The largest impact crater on Mars, with a diameter of 22 kilometers, is called Endeavor. He was photographed by the same tireless “Opportunity” on March 9, 2012.
The color of these Martian sand dunes resembles the waves on the surface of the Earth's sea. Sand dunes are formed on Mars in the same way as on Earth - under the influence of wind, moving several meters a year. The picture was taken by the Mars rover " Curiosity" November 27, 2015.
This image of a small impact crater taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter shows just how much ice may lie beneath the surface of Mars. A meteorite that fell on the surface of the planet was able to break through the surface layer and expose a large amount of frozen water. Perhaps billions of years ago there really were seas and oceans on the surface of Mars.
The famous “selfie” of the Curiosity rover taken on January 19, 2016 near the Gale impact crater.
This is what a sunset on Mars looks like. The picture was taken by the Spirit apparatus on May 19, 2005. The bluish tint to the sky during sunset or sunrise on Mars occurs for the same reasons why we see blue skies on Earth. Light waves of a certain length, corresponding to blue and cyan light, are scattered when they collide with gas and dust molecules, so we perceive the sky as blue. But on Mars, where the atmosphere is much less dense, this effect can be noticed when light passes through the maximum thickness of the air - that is, at dawn or sunset.
The Opportunity vehicle's wheel tracks and a dust swirl in the background. And although dust devils are a fairly common occurrence on Mars, catching one in the frame is a real success.
It seems as if this photograph was taken not 225 million kilometers from Earth by the Curiosity apparatus, but somewhere in a desert area on our planet.
Images used: NASA
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Despite the fact that the rovers did not record the existence of life, scientists cannot stop thinking that there is life on Mars. Since there has not yet been a single expedition to the planet, scientists cannot accurately answer this question.
By examining and analyzing photographs of the surface taken by the rover in detail, they find images, such as a face on Mars, and make some guesses.
In the northern hemisphere of Mars is the region of Cydonia, famous for the legend “The Face on Mars.”
The region is named after the polis of the same name in Ancient Greece. It is conventionally divided into three zones:
Cydonia Labyrinthus with intersecting valleys;
the hilly Cydonia of Collisa;
zone of table mountains with a flat top and steep slopes.
The Kydonia area was first photographed on July 25, 1976 by the Viking 1 spacecraft. There were 18 NASA images of Mars, but only 5 of them were suitable for study.
Martian face
In 1976, cameras at the Viking 1 station recorded a strange pattern on the ground in the area of Kydonia between the Bamberg and Arandus craters, resembling a human face.
At that time, many ufologists associated the presence of this image, called the “Martian Sphinx,” with an ancient civilization that existed in the past on Mars.
Kydonia - Martian face (photo from open sources)
After 25 years, we managed to put an end to the controversy surrounding this object. In clearer photographs taken in 2001 by the Mars Global Surveyor, the face on Mars was missing.
Scientists attribute the appearance of the image of the Sphinx to an optical illusion and the low resolution of the camera of that time.
Bottle on Mars
In 2017, another, no less interesting object was found on Mars.
Ufologist Thomas Miller discovered a bottle in the photograph, presumably a beer bottle.
He could make out a stopper and a label with red, green and white elements.
Miller noted that there's no way to verify whether it's actually a beer bottle, but if it is, it would be nice to "sit down and have a beer with the Martians."
Experienced ufologists refuted Miller's point of view.
Strange objects have been found more than once in photographs of Mars - a large spoon, a donut, a wafer, a statue of a woman.
According to them, the bottle in the photo is actually a fragment of rock or an ordinary stone. An optical illusion resulting from the play of light and shadow turned this stone into a bottle.
Woman Warrior Statue
In one of NASA's images of Mars, amateur astronomer Joe White discovered a rock whose shape resembles a statue of a female warrior done in an "Egyptian artistic style."
Judging by the head, the statue is large.
According to ufologists, the fact of the presence of such a statue suggests that in the distant past there was a highly developed civilization on Mars with a strong army, and its representatives were similar to people.
Ancient amphora
UFOlogist Scott Waring found an ancient amphora on Mars.
In the photographs you can see what appears to be an ancient wine vessel half-submerged in sand.
If you look closely, it looks more like a ceramic vase without handles than an amphora.
Waring claims that NASA experts discolored the photographs so that the stones could not be distinguished from artifacts.
According to him, the sandy desert on Mars is similar to any sandy desert on Earth and has a variety of shades of color other than brown and orange.
Spaceship Graveyard
After carefully examining images of the Red Planet taken by the Curiosity rover, ufologists discovered unusual craters that are likely traces of spacecraft.
They pointed out the similarity of these craters with those discovered on the Moon, the origin of which also could not be explained.
According to one version, the caves found on Mars were workshops. In them, alien spaceships underwent maintenance.
Some ufologists believe that these caves could have been cosmodromes on which ships with aliens landed (or are still landing).
According to the third version, these craters are a cemetery for flying saucers. In the craters, strange tubes are visible coming out of the depression, resembling the remains of spaceships.
Morse code
In 2016, NASA scientists studying NASA images from Mars saw dunes that looked like dots and dashes in Morse code. The photographs were taken by the HiRISE camera installed on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter interplanetary station.
Veronica Bray, a famous planetary scientist, deciphered the inscription.
The Martians, if they exist, left the following message for the earthlings: “NEE NED ZB 6TNN DEIDEDH SIEFI EBEEE SSIEI ESEE SEEE!!”
Despite the fact that some syllables and words are in the English language, the meaning of the message without decoding will remain unknown.
Elements of Morse code have already been found on Mars. But on the Hagal dune they are especially clearly visible.
Scientists explain their occurrence by winds. Moreover, “dots” and “dashes” were formed in different ways. “The dashes were formed as a result of the influence of bidirectional winds. The “dots” appeared at a point in time when the process of drawing the “dash” was interrupted by something.
Morse code on Mars (photo from open sources)
UFO
Ufologists at the University of Arizona, after analyzing images of Mars, discovered a strange object - a five-meter hole that could be the crash site of a ship.
During the scientific examination, it turned out that the UFO crash on Mars occurred within the last 10 years, since there is no such hole in the 2008 photographs.
The black color around the hole suggests that the spacecraft exploded when it hit a Martian hillside.
One might assume that this hole was the result of a meteorite falling. But in this case, there would be fragments of soil nearby, crushed during the collision.
A long black trail stretches from the hole, probably caused by the fall. Presumably its length is 1 kilometer.
Experts claim that it was an alien spaceship. As a result, they died or managed to survive and went looking for help.
Despite the heated scientific debate surrounding the hole, NASA experts do not explain the origin of this Martian object.
Ufologists are sure that NASA knows about the existence of aliens, but they hide it from people.
City
Many science fiction writers are interested in the topic of life on Mars. In their works they describe entire Martian cities. Perhaps such cities are not just fiction. There is a hypothesis that they existed on Mars in the past.
For the first time, physics professor John Brandenburg spoke about the existence of a Martian civilization that probably died as a result of a nuclear disaster.
As proof, the scientist cited data on the high content of radioactive substances on the planet that could have arisen after a nuclear explosion.
In support of the theory about the existence of ancient Martians, in 2016, ruins of a city were discovered in photographs of the poles.
The discovery of the ancient city belongs to ufology fan Sandra Andrade, who found it on the mapping of the planet’s surface in the Google Eath service.
The city on Mars stretches for hundreds of kilometers and consists of numerous buildings, probably destroyed by an avalanche, mudflow or as a result of a nuclear explosion.
The buildings are arranged in lines 5 km long, resembling streets. Buildings reach a height of 800 meters, the average length of buildings is 630 meters.
According to Scott Waring, approximately 500 thousand people could live in the city.
Experienced ufologists believe that making such a statement based on NASA orbital images from Mars, which are of insufficient quality, is erroneous.
According to Sandra Andrade, part of the image could have been erased by NASA specialists to keep secret the fact of the existence of living organisms on Mars.
Rurik's grave
In 2014, independent researchers discovered a cross and a slab protruding from the surface in the photographs. Two objects similar to skulls are visible nearby.
The resemblance to a human skull is great - the cavity of the nose and eye sockets are visible. The skulls on Mars immediately gave researchers the idea of a grave.
But if there are alien burials on Mars, this means that they were on Mars relatively recently, so they were not completely destroyed.
V.A. Chudinov, who was deciphering syllabic and alphabetic writing, enlarged the image, saw a head on the cross and concluded that this was the crucifixion of Christ.
That is, it is not Christ who is depicted on the cross, but Rurik.
“Isn’t Rurik buried here?” - asks Chudinov.
Buddha image
Researcher Scott Waring, trying to find signs of extraterrestrial life forms, saw an 8-kilometer image of the head of Buddha on the surface of Mars.
The photograph shows the profile of a bald man with full cheeks, distinct eyes, ears, and chin.
Scott Waring claims that his discovery is proof of the theory about the influence of aliens on the culture of the inhabitants of our planet.
Since the first rover Opportunity landed on Mars in 2004, scientists, ufologists and space enthusiasts have studied many images.
Today, photographs of the surface of Mars are freely available on the Internet, so anyone can find the inexplicable on Mars.
You can speculate as much as you like by studying these photographs. Until the first man landed on Mars, the question of the existence of life on the Red Planet remains open.
Brief description of the picture: The plan for 2159-2162 working days was very large, for 4 sols almost 3 gigabits of data! This entire volume was transmitted to Earth using two additional orbiters. Typically, MRO and Mars Odyssey are used to send data, with an average of 500 megabits of data transmitted per sol (approximately 60 megabytes). In November, the InSight mission will land on Mars and all MRO resources will be directed to transmitting data from this landing vehicle, then the Curiosity rover will switch to transmission through the MAVEN and ExoMars spacecraft. During these days, work through these satellites was tested. This allowed us to reduce the amount of delayed data.
During Sol 2159, the rover recharged its batteries. Over the next three days, the rover began a flurry of activity. MastCam captured multispectral panoramas of "Tayvallich", "Rosie", "Rhinns of Galloway" and "Ben Haint", and also captured the stone "Ben Vorlich". The “Ben Vorlich” stone was examined with a laser using a ChemCam analyzer, and the “Tayvallich” stone was studied with an APXS X-ray spectrometer, a ChemCam analyzer and filmed with a MAHLI camera on a manipulator arm.
After completing the program for 2,161 Martian days, a calibration cycle of the rover's main instruments was carried out, and the APXS spectrometer studied its calibration target (a marker on the rover itself) at night. The MastCam took a series of multispectral images of the work area.
Sol 2162 was devoted to collecting environmental data, including a survey of the sky and rim of Gale Crater, to compare the amount of dust at the surface with its concentration in the atmosphere as a whole.
On the 2163rd Martian day, the rover drove 15 meters to the next place where it was planned to use the rover's drill. For this purpose, an interesting gray stone platform has already been selected, which, according to orbital data, belongs to the “Jura” region of the Murray geological horizon on the Vera Rubin Ridge. This place was called “Loch Eriboll” (Scottish). Scientists decided to find out how this section of rock differs from the surrounding brown stones, which are more typical for this area. Before starting contact research, it was decided to explore the area from the outside.
But first, on Sol 2165, the MAHLI camera photographed a close-up of the REMS UV sensor, which must be periodically checked for dust and general condition. 
After checking the sensor, the rover moved slightly to the side and conducted a series of remote sensing studies of 4 targets ("The Law", "Eathie", "The Minch" and "Windy Hills") using the ChemCam analyzer, then documented them using the MastCam camera.
For a couple of days, the rover studied the location of the geological contact of gray and brown rocks in the “Lake Eriboll” area. On Sol 2167, the rover again moved slightly away from the drilling site. From its new position, the rover conducted two autonomous studies with the ChemCam spectrometer of rocks in this area. Then I took readings from the REMS and DAN instruments, carried out environmental monitoring using a navigation camera, prepared the CheMin analyzer for work (vibrating the remaining soil from the Stoer area) and carried out basic SAM testing.
The rover met the 2168th Martian day on its way to the finally chosen location for drilling work on the Vera Rubin Ridge. The move to the work area was successful and the rover stopped in front of a stone slab with the name “Inverness”. On the same day, an area on the surface of the slab was cleaned of dust with a DRT brush, photographed with a MAHLI camera, studied with an APXS X-ray spectrometer, and the ChemCam analyzer laser evaporated the surface layer to study its chemistry. At the end of the day, the work area was filmed with a MastCam camera 
It would seem that everything is taken into account and ready to go. For several days the rover was preparing for drilling operations. On Sol 2171, the rover tried to drill a hole in the rock surface of the Inverness slab, but could not... On the morning, when the working day on Earth had just begun, scientists learned that the drill was only able to penetrate the surface by 4 mm. 
Too hard! After a short discussion of the situation, it was decided to repeat the attempt, but this time in the area of “Lake Orcadie”, where they had previously tried to carry out drilling work on Sol 1977. During the last attempt, they were able to go 10 mm deeper in that area, but the new drilling method had not yet been finalized.
Having completed work in the area of the Inverness plate, the rover on Sol 2173 was supposed to travel 65 meters towards Lake Orcadie, but could not...
