Marvel at Mars’ ancient landscape, captured by Curiosity

The Mars landscape, with its hills and distant mountains, appears both familiar and alien at the same time.

This stunning image was recently captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover during its exploration of the red planet.

“Some perspective: These hills have been here for billions of years, and the tracks I leave will fade over time,” shared Curiosity, operated by the NASA team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

The rover added, “It’s humbling to know my time of exploration is just a brief moment in history on such an ancient planet.”

The remarkable Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for nearly 13 years since landing in Gale Crater in 2012.

Its primary mission is to determine if Mars was once capable of supporting microbial life, with findings aiding in preparations for future crewed missions to the planet.

About the size of a Mini Cooper, Curiosity utilizes 17 cameras and a robotic arm with specialized tools for its research.

The rover has discovered evidence supporting Mars’ past habitability and conducted groundbreaking research on the planet’s geology and climate.

Initially expected to last only a couple of years, Curiosity’s success has led NASA to extend the mission indefinitely.

The space agency continues to gather valuable scientific data from the rover and has not set a specific end date for the mission.

Curiosity’s discoveries have reshaped our understanding of Mars and paved the way for future exploration, both robotic and human.