Since its landing last summer, Curiosity has been exploring Mars' Gale Crater, but it will soon switch to exploring a larger area of about 5 miles away from the crater, at the base of Mount Sharp. However, the journey is uncertain because the rover will have to drive southwest for many months. "We don't know when we'll get to Mount Sharp," Erickson said. "This truly is a mission of exploration, so just because our end goal is Mount Sharp doesn't mean we're not going to investigate interesting features along the way." The image attached of Mount Sharp shows that the many layers may give some evidence about how the ancient Martian environment changed. Now, the challenge lies on the analysis of the different rocks, as they will determine the qualities of the land. The first drilled rock, “John Klein”, provided evidence that an ancient environment had favorable conditions for microbial life. These discoveries from the land will ultimately determine how the Martian environment changed and evolved and how possible it is to sustain life.
Engineering Group: Jesus Bohorquez, Katherine Garcia
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