Gale crater
Quick Summary
Gale crater is a large impact basin on Mars, located at a low elevation that would have allowed water to pool there if it ever existed on the planet's surface. The crater's central mountain, Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp), is composed of layered sedimentary rock, offering a record of Mars' geological history. The Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, landed in Gale crater in 2012 and found evidence of ancient streams, suggesting that the crater was once the floor of a stream. Curiosity also discovered organic molecules preserved in rock layers dating back 3.5 billion years, indicating that early Mars could have supported life.1
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MarsSpacecraft exploration… rover, called Curiosity, landed in Gale crater in 2012. Weighing about 900 kg (2,000 pounds) and measuring about 3 meters (10 feet) long, it was the heaviest and longest rover on Mars. Gale crater is at a low elevation, so if Mars ever had surface water, it would have pooled…
Read More… rover, called Curiosity, landed in Gale crater in 2012. Weighing about 900 kg (2,000 pounds) and measuring about 3 meters (10 feet) long, it was the heaviest and longest rover on Mars. Gale crater is at a low elevation, so if Mars ever had surface water, it would have pooled…
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CuriosityCuriosity’s landing site, Gale crater, is at a low elevation; if Mars ever had surface water, it would have pooled there. Aeolis Mons (also called Mount Sharp), the crater’s central mountain, consists of many layers of sedimentary rock that were laid down over much of Mars’s geological history.…
Read MoreCuriosity’s landing site, Gale crater, is at a low elevation; if Mars ever had surface water, it would have pooled there. Aeolis Mons (also called Mount Sharp), the crater’s central mountain, consists of many layers of sedimentary rock that were laid down over much of Mars’s geological history.…
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