Mount Sharp

title: "Mount Sharp" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["aeolis-quadrangle", "mountains-on-mars", "gale-(crater)", "mars-science-laboratory"] description: "Martian mountain" topic_path: "general/aeolis-quadrangle" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Sharp" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Martian mountain ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox feature on celestial object"]

|name = Aeolis Mons |image = 673885main PIA15986-full full.jpg |caption = The rover Curiosity landed on August 6, 2012, near the base of Aeolis Mons. |location = Gale crater on Mars |coordinates = |peak = Aeolis Mons – 5.5 km 18045 ft |discoverer = NASA in the 1970s |eponym = Aeolis Mons – Aeolis albedo feature Mount Sharp – Robert P. Sharp (1911–2004) Mount Sharp, officially Aeolis Mons (), is a mountain on Mars. It forms the central peak within Gale crater and is located around , rising 5.5 km high from the valley floor. Its ID in the United States Geological Survey's Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature is 15000.

On August 6, 2012, Curiosity (the Mars Science Laboratory rover) landed in "Yellowknife" Quad 51 of Aeolis Palus, next to the mountain. NASA named the landing site Bradbury Landing on August 22, 2012. Aeolis Mons is a primary goal for scientific study.{{cite web |author=NASA Staff |title=NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-230 |date=August 6, 2012 |publisher=NASA/JPL |access-date=August 7, 2012 |archive-date=August 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814201019/http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-230

On September 11, 2014, NASA announced that Curiosity had reached Aeolis Mons, the rover mission's long-term prime destination. Possible recurrent slope lineae, wet brine flows, were reported on Mount Sharp near Curiosity in 2015. In June 2017, NASA reported that an ancient striated lake had existed in Gale crater that could have been favorable for microbial life.

Formation

The mountain appears to be an enormous mound of eroded sedimentary layers sitting on the central peak of Gale. It rises 5.5 km above the northern crater floor and 4.5 km above the southern crater floor, higher than the southern crater rim. The sediments may have been laid down over an interval of 2 billion years, | url = http://themis.asu.edu/features/galecrater | title = Gale Crater's History Book | work = Arizona State University | access-date = December 7, 2012}} and may have once completely filled the crater. Some of the lower sediment layers may have originally been deposited on a lake bed, while observations of possibly cross-bedded strata in the upper mound suggest aeolian processes. |last1=Anderson |first1=R. B. |last2=Bell III |first2=J. F. |year=2010 |title=Geologic mapping and characterization of Gale Crater and implications for its potential as a Mars Science Laboratory landing site |journal=International Journal of Mars Science and Exploration |volume=5 |pages=76–128 |bibcode=2010IJMSE...5...76A |doi=10.1555/mars.2010.0004 |last = Cabrol |first = N. A. |year = 1999 |title = Hydrogeologic evolution of Gale Crater and its relevance in the exobiological exploration of Mars |url = http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/conferences/lplc/2008/abstracts/60_sdarticle%282%29.pdf |journal = Icarus |volume = 139 |issue = 2 |pages = 235–245 |bibcode = 1999Icar..139..235C |doi = 10.1006/icar.1999.6099 |display-authors = etal |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029213332/http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/conferences/lplc/2008/abstracts/60_sdarticle%282%29.pdf |archive-date = October 29, 2013 |last1=Irwin |first1=R. P. |last2=Howard |first2=A. D. |last3=Craddock |first3=R. A. |last4=Moore |first4=J. M. |year=2005 |title=An intense terminal epoch of widespread fluvial activity on early Mars: 2. Increased runoff and paleolake development |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=110 |issue=E12 |pages=E12S15 |bibcode=2005JGRE..11012S15I |doi=10.1029/2005JE002460 |doi-access=free | last = Wall | first = M. | title = Bizarre Mars Mountain Possibly Built by Wind, Not Water | publisher = Space.com | date = May 6, 2013 | url = http://www.space.com/20986-mars-mountain-water-formation.html | access-date = May 13, 2013 }}

On December 8, 2014, a panel of NASA scientists discussed (archive 62:03) the latest observations of Curiosity about how water may have helped shape the landscape of Mars, including Aeolis Mons, and had a climate long ago that could have produced long-lasting lakes at many Martian locations.

On October 8, 2015, NASA confirmed that lakes and streams existed in Gale crater 3.3 - 3.8 billion years ago delivering sediments to build up the lower layers of Mount Sharp.

On February 1, 2019, NASA scientists reported that Curiosity had determined, for the first time, the density of Mount Sharp in Gale crater, thereby establishing a clearer understanding of how the mountain was formed.

Size comparisons

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Apollo_15_Rover,_Irwin.jpg" caption="isbn= 978-0-521-33500-3}}"] ::

::data[format=table]

Aeolis Mons is 5.5 km high, about the same height as Mons Huygens, the tallest lunar mountain, and taller than Mons Hadley visited by Apollo 15. The tallest mountain known in the Solar System is in Rheasilvia crater on the asteroid Vesta, which contains a central mound that rises 22 km high; Olympus Mons on Mars is nearly the same height, at 21.9 km high.

In comparison, Mount Everest rises to 8.8 km altitude above sea level (asl), but is only 4.6 km (base-to-peak) (btp). Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro is about 5.9 km altitude above sea level to the Uhuru peak; also 4.6 km base-to-peak. America's Denali, also known as Mount McKinley, has a base-to-peak of 5.5 km. The Franco-Italian Mont Blanc/Monte Bianco is 4.8 km in altitude above sea level, Mount Fuji, which overlooks Tokyo, Japan, is about 3.8 km altitude. Compared to the Andes, Aeolis Mons would rank outside the hundred tallest peaks, being roughly the same height as Argentina's Cerro Pajonal; the peak is higher than any above sea level in Oceania, but base-to peak it is considerably shorter than Hawaii's Mauna Kea and its neighbors.

Name

Discovered in the 1970s, the mountain remained unnamed for several decades. When Gale crater became a candidate landing site, the mountain was given various labels e.g. in 2010 a NASA photo caption called it "Gale crater mound". In March 2012, NASA unofficially named it "Mount Sharp", after American geologist Robert P. Sharp. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/PIA15292-Fig2-MarsMountSharp-HeightComparison.jpg" caption="Comparison of ''Mount Sharp (Aeolis Mons)'' to the sizes of three large mountains on Earth."] ::

Since 1919 the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has been the official body responsible for planetary nomenclature. Under its long-established rules for naming features on Mars, mountains are named after the classical albedo feature in which they are located, not after people. In May 2012 the IAU officially named the mountain Aeolis Mons after the Aeolis albedo feature. It also gave the name Aeolis Palus to the plain located on the crater floor between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of the mountain. The IAU's choice of name is supported by the United States Geological Survey. Martian craters are named after deceased scientists, so in recognition of NASA and Sharp, at the same time the IAU named "Robert Sharp", a large crater (150 km diameter) located about 260 km west of Gale.

NASA and the European Space Agency continue to refer to the mountain as "Mount Sharp" in press conferences and press releases. This is similar to their use of other informal names, such as the Columbia Hills near one of the Mars Exploration Rover landing sites.

In August 2012, the magazine Sky & Telescope ran an article explaining the rationale of the two names and held an informal poll to determine which one was preferred by their readers. Over 2700 people voted, with Aeolis Mons winning by 57% to Mount Sharp's 43%.

Spacecraft exploration

Main article: Timeline of Mars Science Laboratory

On December 16, 2014, NASA reported detecting, based on measurements by the Curiosity rover, an unusual increase, then decrease, in the amounts of methane in the atmosphere of the planet Mars; as well as, detecting Martian organic chemicals in powder drilled from a rock by the rover. Also, based on deuterium to hydrogen ratio studies, much of the water at Gale Crater on Mars was found to have been lost during ancient times, before the lakebed in the crater was formed; afterwards, large amounts of water continued to be lost.

On June 1, 2017, NASA reported that the Curiosity rover provided evidence of an ancient lake in Gale crater on Mars that could have been favorable for microbial life; the ancient lake was stratified, with shallows rich in oxidants and depths poor in oxidants; and, the ancient lake provided many different types of microbe-friendly environments at the same time. NASA further reported that the Curiosity rover will continue to explore higher and younger layers of Mount Sharp in order to determine how the lake environment in ancient times on Mars became the drier environment in more modern times.

On August 5, 2017, NASA celebrated the fifth anniversary of the Curiosity landing, and related exploratory accomplishments, on the planet Mars. (Videos: Curiosity First Five Years (02:07); Curiosity POV: Five Years Driving (05:49); Curiosity Discoveries About Gale Crater (02:54))

On April 11, 2019, NASA announced that Curiosity had drilled into, and closely studied, a "clay-bearing unit" which, according to the rover Project Manager, is a "major milestone" in Curiosity journey up Mount Sharp. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/PIA23179-MarsCuriosityRoverExploersMountSharp-20190515.jpg" caption="Mars ''Curiosity'' rover explores Mount Sharp (May 15, 2019)}}"] ::

In January 2023, Curiosity viewed and studied the "Cacao" meteorite. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/PIA25737-MarsCuriosityRover-CacaoMeteorite-20230128.jpg" caption="

In August 2023, Curiosity explored the upper Gediz Vallis Ridge. A panoramic view of the ridge is here, and a 3D rendered view is here.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/PIA26042-MarsCuriosityRover-PathToGedizVallisRidge-Animation-Aug2023.gif" caption="

''Curiosity'' mission

::data[format=table]

As of , , Curiosity has been on the planet Mars for sols ( total days) since landing on August 6, 2012. Since September 11, 2014, Curiosity has been exploring the slopes of Mount Sharp, where more information about the history of Mars is expected to be found. As of January 26, 2021, the rover has traveled over 24.15 km and climbed over 327 m in elevation to, and around, the mountain base since landing at "Bradbury Landing" in August 2012. | header = Curiosity exploring the slopes of Mount Sharp. | header_align = center | caption_align = center | align = center | direction = horizontal | image1 = PIA17946-MarsCuriosityRover-PlannedRoute-20140218.jpg | width1 = 200 | alt1 = | caption1 = Close-up map - planned route from "Dingo Gap" to "Kimberley" (KMS-9) (HiRISE image) (February 18, 2014/Sol 547). | image2 = TraverseMap-MarsCuriosityRover-Sol2692-20200303.jpg | width2 = 400 | alt2 = | caption2 = Traverse map - Curiosity has traveled over 21.92 km since leaving its "start" point in Yellowknife Bay on July 4, 2013 (now beyond the "3-sigma safe-to-land ellipse" border) (HiRISE image) (March 3, 2020/Sol 2692). | image3 = PIA23412-MarsCuriosityRover-Mid2019Map-20190822.jpg | width3 = 200 | alt3 = | caption3 = Context map - Curiosity trip to Mount Sharp (star = landing) (August 22, 2019/Sol 2504). | footer = Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona | footer_align = right

Gallery

Image:PIA16064-Mars Curiosity Rover Treasure Map.jpg|Overview map - blue oval marks "Base of Aeolis Mons" (August 17, 2012). Image:MarsCuriosityRover-TraverseMap-Sol-0746-20140911.jpg|Traverse map - route from Landing to slopes on Aeolis Mons (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA18475-MarsCuriosityRover--HIRISE-TraverseMap-PahrumpHills-20140911.jpg|Close-up Map - new route (yellow) - Aeolis Mons slopes (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA18780-MarsCuriosityRover-HIRISE-PlannedRouteMap-PahrumpHills-MountSharp-20140911.jpg|Close-up map - new route (yellow) - Aeolis Mons slopes (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA18474-MarsCuriosityRover-GaleCrater-TopographicMap-PahrumpHills-20140911.jpg|Close-up map - Aeolis Mons slopes - with few craters (bottom) (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA18785-MarsCuriosityRover-HIRISE-MurrayRidge-Transition-20140911.jpg|Geology map - Aeolis Mons slopes (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA18781-MarsCuriosityRover-GeologyMap-LowerMountSharp-20140911.jpg|Geology map - Aeolis Mons slopes (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA17587-MarsCuriosityRover-MurrayButtes-20131113.jpg|"Murray Buttes" knobs - Aeolis Mons slopes (November 13, 2013). Image:PIA18783-MarsCuriosityRover-HIRISE-MurrayButtesMesa-20140911.jpg|"Murray Buttes" mesa - Aeolis Mons slopes (September 11, 2014). Image:PIA18784-MarsCuriosityRover-HIRISE-MurrayRidgeFormation-20140911.jpg|"Murray Formation" bands - Aeolis Mons slopes (September 11, 2014). Image:Pia19039 some key places in a survey of the "Pahrump Hills" .jpg|"Pahrump Hills" - Notable places at base of Aeolis Mons (Autumn, 2014). Image:PIA18883-MarsCuriosityRover-PahrumpHills-Sand-20141113.jpg|"Pahrump Hills" sand - viewed by Curiosity (November 13, 2014). Image:PIA18882-MarsCuriosityRover-PahrumpHillsSand-WheelTrack-20141107.tif|"Pahrump Hills" sand - Curiosity tracks (November 7, 2014). Image:PIA18610-MarsCuriosityRover-PahrumpHillsOutcrop-Mahli-Sol758-20140923.jpg|"Pahrump Hills" rock outcrop on Mars – viewed by Curiosity (September 23, 2014). Image:PIA18609 - First Sampling Hole in Mount Sharp .jpg|"Confidence Hills" rock on Mars - Curiosity 1st target at Aeolis Mons (September 24, 2014). Image:PIA18881-MarsCuriosityRover-PahrumpHillsBedrock-20141109.tif|"Pahrump Hills" bedrock on Mars - viewed by Curiosity (November 9, 2014). Image:PIA18880-MarsCuriosityRover-PinkCliffs-20141007.jpg|"Pink Cliffs" rock outcrop on Mars - viewed by Curiosity (October 7, 2014). Image:PIA19066-MarsCuriosityRover-AlexanderHillsRock-20141123-Fig1.jpg|"Alexander Hills" bedrock on Mars - viewed by Curiosity (November 23, 2014). Image:PIA19080-MarsRoverCuriosity-AncientGaleLake-Simulated-20141208.jpg|Ancient Lake fills Gale Crater on Mars (simulated view). Image:100 m of the Murray formation.jpg|Murray formation lakebeds with aeolian(?) erosional fins (October 9, 2016) Image:PIA23138-MarsCuriosityRover-Drills-ClayBearingUnit-20190406.gif|Curiosity drilled into a "clay-bearing unit". (April 11, 2019) Image:PIA19674-Mars-GaleCrater-SurfaceMaterials-20150619.jpg|Gale crater - surface materials (false colors; THEMIS; 2001 Mars Odyssey). Image:Topographic Map of Gale Crater.jpg|Gale crater with Aeolis Mons rising from the center. Curiosity's landing area (marked) is in Aeolis Palus. Image:Curiosity Cradled by Gale Crater.jpg|Aeolis Mons rises from the middle of Gale - Green dot marks Curiosity's landing site in Aeolis Palus. Image:Mars Science Laboratory landing ellipse reduced.jpg|Gale crater with Curiosity's landing area within Aeolis Palus noted - north is down. Image:Moundshigh.svg|Aeolis Mons may have formed from the erosion of sediment layers that once filled Gale. Image:PIA16064-Mars Curiosity Rover Treasure Map.jpg|Curiosity's landing site (green dot) - blue dot marks Glenelg Intrigue - blue spot marks the base of Mount Sharp - a planned area of study. Image:Curiosity Rover Landing Site - Quadmapping Yellowknife.jpg|Curiosity's landing site - "Quad Map" includes "Yellowknife" Quad 51 of Aeolis Palus in Gale. Image:Mars Curiosity Rover - Yellowknife Landing Site.jpg|Curiosity's landing site - "Yellowknife" Quad 51 (1-mi-by-1-mi) of Aeolis Palus in Gale. Image:PIA15696-HiRISE-MSL-Sol11 2 -br2.jpg|MSL debris field viewed by HiRISE on August 17, 2012 - parachute is 615 m from Curiosity. (3-D: rover & parachute) Image:PIA16800-MarsCuriosityRover-MtSharp-ColorVersions-20120823.jpg|Comparison of color versions (raw, natural, white balance) of Aeolis Mons (August 23, 2012). Image:PIA16068 - Mars Curiosity Rover - Aeolis Mons - 20120817.jpg|Aeolis Mons as viewed by Curiosity (August 8, 2012) (white balanced image). Image:PIA16105 malin04ano-br2.jpg|Layers at the base of Aeolis Mons - dark rock in inset is same size as Curiosity (white balanced image). Image:PIA16134-Mars Curiosity Rover Wheels.jpg|Curiosity's wheels - Aeolis Mons is in the background (MAHLI, September 9, 2012). Image:PIA17085-MarsCuriosityRover-TraverseMap-Sol351-20130801.jpg|First-Year and First-Mile Traverse Map of the Curiosity rover on Mars (August 1, 2013) (3-D).

References

References

1. [https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/15000 Aeolis Mons]
2. NASA Staff. (August 10, 2012). "Curiosity's Quad – IMAGE". [[NASA]].
3. (August 9, 2012). "NASA's Curiosity Beams Back a Color 360 of Gale Crate". [[NASA]].
4. Amos, Jonathan. (August 9, 2012). "Mars rover makes first colour panorama". [[BBC News]].
5. Halvorson, Todd. (August 9, 2012). "Quad 51: Name of Mars base evokes rich parallels on Earth". [[USA Today]].
6. NASA Staff. (August 6, 2012). "NASA Lands Car-Size Rover Beside Martian Mountain". [[NASA]].
7. (August 22, 2012). "NASA Mars Rover Begins Driving at Bradbury Landing". [[NASA]].
8. (November 13, 2013). "Mars Rover Teams Dub Sites In Memory of Bruce Murray". [[NASA]].
9. (June 5, 2013). "From 'Glenelg' to Mount Sharp". [[NASA]].
10. Chang, Alicia. (June 5, 2013). "Curiosity rover to head toward Mars mountain soon". [[AP News]].
11. Chang, Kenneth. (June 7, 2013). "Martian Rock Another Clue to a Once Water-Rich Planet". [[New York Times]].
12. (September 11, 2014). "NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Arrives at Martian Mountain". [[NASA]].
13. Chang, Kenneth. (September 11, 2014). "After a Two-Year Trek, NASA's Mars Rover Reaches Its Mountain Lab". [[New York Times]].
14. Chang, Kenneth. (October 5, 2015). "Mars Is Pretty Clean. Her Job at NASA Is to Keep It That Way.". [[New York Times]].
15. (2013). "Growth and form of the mound in Gale Crater, Mars: Slope wind enhanced erosion and transport". Geology.
16. (December 8, 2014). "Release 14-326 – NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Clues to How Water Helped Shape Martian Landscape". [[NASA]].
17. Kaufmann, Marc. (December 8, 2014). "(Stronger) Signs of Life on Mars". [[New York Times]].
18. Chang, Kenneth. (December 8, 2014). "Curiosity Rover's Quest for Clues on Mars". [[New York Times]].
19. Clavin, Whitney. (October 8, 2015). "NASA's Curiosity Rover Team Confirms Ancient Lakes on Mars". [[NASA]].
20. Grotzinger, J.P.. (October 9, 2015). "Deposition, exhumation, and paleoclimate of an ancient lake deposit, Gale crater, Mars". [[Science (journal).
21. Chang, Kenneth. (January 31, 2019). "How NASA's Curiosity Rover Weighed a Mountain on Mars - With a bit of technical improvisation, scientists worked out that the bedrock of Mount Sharp appeared to be less dense than had been expected.". [[The New York Times]].
22. Lewis, Kevin W.. (February 1, 2019). "A surface gravity traverse on Mars indicates low bedrock density at Gale crater". [[Science (journal).
23. Fred W. Price. (1988). "The Moon observer's handbook". Cambridge University Press.
24. ''Mount Everest'' (1:50,000 scale map), prepared under the direction of [[Bradford Washburn]] for the Boston Museum of Science, the Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research, and the [[National Geographic Society]], 1991, {{ISBN. 3-85515-105-9
25. "Kilimajaro Guide—Kilimanjaro 2010 Precise Height Measurement Expedition".
26. "S. Green – Kilimanjaro: Highest Mountain in Africa – About.com".
27. Adam Helman, 2005. ''The Finest Peaks : Prominence and Other Mountain Measures'', p. 9: "the base to peak rise of Mount McKinley is the largest of any mountain that lies entirely above sea level, some 18000 feet"
28. [http://www.summitpost.org/zugspitze/150322 Sumitpostorg – Zugspitze]
29. (November 6, 2009). "Mont Blanc shrinks by 45cm in two years". Sydney Morning Herald.
30. "NASA – Layers in Lower Formation of Gale Crater Mound".
31. (August 14, 2012). "Mount Sharp or Aeolis Mons?". [[Sky & Telescope]].
32. "Planetary Names: Mons, montes: Aeolis Mons on Mars". [[International Astronomical Union]].
33. (March 27, 2012). ""Mount Sharp" on Mars Compared to Three Big Mountains on Earth". [[NASA]].
34. Space.com staff. (March 29, 2012). "NASA's New Mars Rover Will Explore Towering "Mount Sharp"". [[Space.com]].
35. Blue, J.. (May 16, 2012). "Three New Names Approved for Features on Mars". [[US Geological Survey]].
36. Agle, D. C.. (March 28, 2012). "'Mount Sharp' On Mars Links Geology's Past and Future". [[NASA]].
37. "Planetary Names: Crater, craters: Robert Sharp on Mars". [[International Astronomical Union]].
38. [http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMEV8TX55H_index_0.html ESA – Mars Express marks the spot for Curiosity landing]
39. (December 16, 2014). "NASA Rover Finds Active and Ancient Organic Chemistry on Mars". [[NASA]].
40. Chang, Kenneth. (December 16, 2014). "'A Great Moment': Rover Finds Clue That Mars May Harbor Life". [[New York Times]].
41. Mahaffy, P.R.. (December 16, 2014). "Mars Atmosphere – The imprint of atmospheric evolution in the D/H of Hesperian clay minerals on Mars". [[Science (journal).
42. (May 31, 2017). "High-Silica 'Halos' Shed Light on Wet Ancient Mars". [[NASA]].
43. (June 1, 2017). "Curiosity Peels Back Layers on Ancient Martian Lake". [[NASA]].
44. Hurowitz, J.A.. (June 2, 2017). "Redox stratification of an ancient lake in Gale crater, Mars". [[Science (journal).
45. (August 2, 2017). "Five Years Ago and 154 Million Miles Away: Touchdown!". [[NASA]].
46. Wall, Mike. (August 5, 2017). "After 5 Years on Mars, NASA's Curiosity Rover Is Still Making Big Discoveries". [[Space.com]].
47. Good, Andrew. (April 11, 2019). "Curiosity Tastes First Sample in 'Clay-Bearing Unit'". [[NASA]].
48. Deborah Padgett. (August 21, 2023). "Sols 3923-3925: Approaching the Ridgetop – "Bermuda Triangle" Ahead!".
49. Emma Harris. (August 29, 2023). "Sols 3930-3931: Wrapping up at the Ridge".
50. Webster, Guy. (August 6, 2013). "Mars Curiosity Landing: Relive the Excitement". [[NASA]].
51. Staff. (January 19, 2017). "PIA17355: Curiosity's Progress on Route from 'Glenelg' to Mount Sharp". [[NASA]].
52. Staff. (December 13, 2016). "PIA21145: Curiosity Rover's Martian Mission, Exaggerated Cross Section". [[NASA]].
53. Staff. (January 30, 2018). "Wide-Angle Panorama from Ridge in Mars' Gale Crater". [[NASA]].
54. [http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/?ImageID=4299 Mars Science Laboratory: Multimedia-Images]
55. Chang, Kenneth. (June 22, 2017). "High Above Mars, a NASA Orbiter Spies the Curiosity Rover". [[NASA]].
56. Staff. (August 5, 2015). "PIA19803 - Image Annotations - Curiosity rover - Mars Science Laboratory - NASA's Journey to Mars". [[NASA]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::