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• THE LUNAR EXPLORER ARCHIVES
• MOON
• MARS
• SOLAR SYSTEM
• DEEP SKY

A R C H I V E S

This Picture, coming from the NASA - Curiosity Rover, shows us part of the Inner Wall of Gale Crater. This frame, however, is just a portion of a larger, High-Resolution Color Mosaic made from images obtained by Curiosity's Mast Camera. Consider, in order to get a better orientation, that this image of the Inner Crater Wall has been obtained while watching to the North of the Landing Site or, if you prefer, it has been taken while observing the Martian Landscape that lies behind the Rover.

Here, as you can see, an extremely complex Network of Valleys - which are all reasonably believed to have formed by Water Erosion - enters Gale Crater from the outside. As a matter of fact, this is the first view that scientists have ever had of an extinct Fluvial System - meaning one relating to a River or a Stream - from the Surface of Mars. Known and studied since the 1970s, beginning with the NASA's Viking Missions, these Networks date from a period, in Martian History, when Water flowed freely all across the Surface of the Planet. The Main Channel Deposit seen here resembles a dirt road, ascending into the Mountains, which are actually, as we said before, the Inner North Wall and Rim of Gale Crater.

Although Curiosity is about 11 miles (such as pprox. 18 Km) away from this area, and the view is heavily obscured somewhat by Dust and Haze, this image provides us with new insights into the style of Sediment Transport that occurred within the System. Unfortunately, the NASA - Curiosity Rover has no current plans to visit this Valley System, since the primary objective of the Rover is "Mount Sharp", which is located towards the South of the Landing Site. However, images taken later and with the 100-millimeter Mastcam are likely to allow scientists to study the area in significantly more detail.

Remember that this frame has been additionally processed and colorized in Absolute Natural Colors (such as the colors that a normal human eye would actually perceive if someone were on the Surface of Mars, near the NASA - Mars Exploration Rover - Mars Laboratory "Curiosity", and then looked towards the Inner Wall of Gale Crater), by using an original technique created - and, in time, dramatically improved - by the Lunar Explorer Italia Team.