Rainbow-colored sunset … The image of the ‘Red Planet’ sent by NASA Curiosity
The Mars exploration rover ‘Curiosity’ has captured the clearest ever observed sunlight on the surface of Mars.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on the 7th (local time), Curiosity captured a scene where the sun’s rays descended through the clouds over the horizon at sunset on the 2nd of last month. The rover was observing clouds for a climate probe on Mars.
According to NASA, most Martian clouds lie within 60 km of the ground and are composed of ‘water ice’. However, the clouds in the recent photos taken by Curiosity are formed especially at higher altitudes, so the temperature is low, and the composition of the clouds is estimated to be carbon dioxide ice or dry ice.
These clouds help scientists understand the weather on Mars. By identifying when and where clouds form, various information such as the composition, temperature, and winds of Mars’ atmosphere can be obtained.
In addition to this, Curiosity also captured a plume-like cloud on January 27th. In the photo, the sunlight shined on the clouds, giving off a rainbow-like color.
Meanwhile, the rover ‘Curiosity’, which has been active on Mars since 2012, celebrated the 10th anniversary of its landing in August last year. Originally, NASA expected Curiosity to operate for regarding two years, but the rover greatly exceeds this expected lifespan and is still active.
Curiosity’s mission is to find traces of ancient life beyond Earth. The rover actually made the achievement of discovering traces of water flowing on Mars long ago and evidence of methane gas and organic compounds necessary for life to exist.
Reporter Yang Min-ha ([email protected])
