The mission was designed to determine whether Mars was ever habitable for microbial life. It has been exploring the crater, and the Mount Sharp feature at the crater's center, for the past decade. Curiosity landed on the red planet on August 5, 2012. Later this year, Curiosity will celebrate a major milestone: a 10-year Martian anniversary.
Previously, the Opportunity rover also spotted Martian "blueberries," little mineral spherules indicative of once watery soil on the red planet.Įach image Curiosity collects and shares of these features is helping researchers piece together the chronology of water's presence in the crater.
The find is similar to other small features Curiosity has spotted in the past, all of which were formed "when mineralizing fluids traveled throudagh conduits in the rock," according to the agency. The Martian "flower" and the spherical pieces next to it were likely "made in the ancient past when minerals carried by water cemented the rock," according to NASA.Ĭuriosity took an image of the little rock arrangement on February 24 using the Mars Hand Lens Imager, a camera located on the end of its robotic arm. The rock artifact, which resembles a piece of coral or a flower, is smaller than a penny. (CNN) - This may be the closest we will ever come to finding a flower on Mars.ĭuring its ongoing investigation of Martian rocks in Gale Crater, the Curiosity rover stumbled on a tiny surprise.
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