Ancient mud cracks on Mars discovered by Curiosity Rover

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68 segments

0:00

Curiosity sol 4,928

0:03

mast camera, mast cam, hazard avoidance

0:06

camera, hazcam, and the navigation

0:08

camera, navcam. These images were taken

0:11

by mastcam, hazcam, and navcam. These

0:15

cameras are located high on the rover's

0:18

mast and also aids in driving. Curiosity

0:21

Mars rover captured most of these images

0:24

on 17th June 2026.

0:27

The 4,928th

0:29

martian day or sol of the Curiosity

0:32

rover mission on Mars. All these image

0:34

credits NASA, JPL Caltech MSSS.

0:39

NASA's Curiosity rover is a car-sized

0:42

robotic explorer on Mars, part of the

0:45

Mars Science Laboratory mission. It

0:47

landed on Mars in August 2012 and has

0:50

been exploring Gale Crater and Mount

0:52

Sharp, searching for the evidence of

0:54

past habitability and the presence of

0:57

organic molecules.

0:59

Part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory

1:01

mission, Curiosity was the largest and

1:04

the most capable rover ever sent to Mars

1:07

when it launched in 2011.

1:10

Curiosity set out to answer the

1:12

question, did Mars ever have the right

1:15

environmental condition to support small

1:17

life called microbes?

1:19

Early in its mission, Curiosity's

1:21

scientific tools found chemical and

1:24

mineral evidence of past habitable

1:26

environments on Mars. It continues to

1:29

explore the rock record from a time when

1:31

Mars could have been home to microbial

1:33

life.

1:35

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which

1:38

is managed for the agency by Caltech in

1:40

Pasadena, California, built and manages

1:43

operation of the Mars Perseverance rover

1:45

and Mars Curiosity rover.

1:48

Curiosity was built by NASA's Jet

1:51

Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed

1:53

by Caltech in Pasadena, California. JPL

1:56

leads the mission on behalf of NASA's

1:58

Science Mission Directorate in

2:00

Washington.

2:01

Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego

2:04

built and operate Mastcam.

2:06

A key objective for Curiosity's mission

2:08

on Mars is astrobiology, including the

2:11

search for sign of ancient microbial

2:13

life. The rover will characterize the

2:15

planet's geology and past climate, pave

2:18

the way for human exploration of the red

2:21

planet.

2:23

The Mars Perseverance and Mars Curiosity

2:25

mission are the part of NASA's Moon to

2:27

Mars exploration approach, which

2:30

includes Artemis mission to the Moon

2:32

that will help prepare for human

2:34

exploration of the red planet.

2:37

Let me tell you again that all these

2:39

image credits NASA, JPL, Caltech, MSSS,

2:43

and Curiosity Mars rover captured most

2:45

of these images

2:47

on 17th June 2026,

2:50

Sol 4,928.

Interactive Summary

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This video provides an overview of NASA's Curiosity rover, highlighting its mission on Mars, its technical capabilities, and its scientific goals. It details the images taken on sol 4,928 and explains the rover's role in exploring Gale Crater and Mount Sharp to search for signs of past microbial life.