The Curiosity Rover has been able to capture stunning views of Mars' alien surroundings because Winter has cleared Mars of dust.
Curiosity stopped its roll up Mount Sharp on July 3rd, as it was a tall mountain at the center of Gale Crater.
The rover is now at a height of approximately 460m (1,500 ft), above its landing spot. You can see the rover's eyes from up here. The crater's edge is more than 32 km away (20 miles).
This 360-degree panorama, which consists of 129 images, shows a variety landscapes including clay-rich rocks, rippled volcanic sand and sulfate rich rocks. All of these are secrets about how the red planet lost its water.
Curiosity has been exploring Gale Crater's varied terrain for nine years. Some scientists believe it is a dry lake bed that dates back more than 3.5 million years. The peak of AeolisMons, also known as Mount Sharp, rises about 5.5 km (18,000 ft), above the crater floor.
After a steady climb the rover stands at the transition between clay rich rocks in the basin that indicate a history and moisture, and salty mineral on the rim which indicates drier conditions.
The panorama shows the exact spot from which the rover took its 32nd rock sample.
These 32 rock samples were drilled by NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
"The rocks will tell us how the once-wet Mars became dry Mars today," says Abigail Fraeman (Curiosity's deputy project manager at NASA).
Fraeman, along with her colleagues, points out a blanket made of knobbly, sulfurate-rich rocks as she tours the panorama. They believe that this was created by groundwater.
She zooms in on hills higher up that appear to be more rounded than the other ridges visible in the crater. It is possible that they were eroded in different directions, and this requires more investigation.
Curiosity will soon be found in the valley under a rounded hill that is as tall as a 4-story building. Fraeman expects great images, and more rock samples to be collected there.
The chemical and mineral compositions of Martian rocks can provide important clues as to how the environment may have dried up and whether there was sufficient water to sustain microbial life. We are eager to find out more.
