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NASA took the initiative to name Storm Gannon after a space weather scientist who died in 2024. This was the storm that sparked beautiful auroras across the globe that same year.

Seattle startup Interlune's newly unveiled machine is designed to churn up 110 tons (100 metric tons) of moon dirt per hour to harvest helium-3, a fuel for future fusion reactors.

Many AI models fail to recognise negation words such as “no” and “not”, which means they can’t easily distinguish between medical images labelled as showing a disease and images labelled as not showing the disease

Many AI models fail to recognise negation words such as “no” and “not”, which means they can’t easily distinguish between medical images labelled as showing a disease and images labelled as not showing the disease

The FAA has greenlit license modifications ahead of Flight 9 of SpaceX's Starship but has not yet approved the launch itself.

The presence of water-ice in the debris disk around a young star could have helped facilitate the growth and development of exoplanets.

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3 min read

Sols 4541–4542: Boxwork Structure, or Just “Box-Like” Structure? NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 14, 2025 — Sol 4539, or Martian day 4,539 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 00:57:26 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Today we came into another strange and interesting workspace (see image above) that is as exciting as the one we had on Monday. This is our first arrival at a potential boxwork structure — a series of web-like, resistant ridges visible in orbital images that we have been looking forward to visiting since we first saw them. Today’s observations will be the first step to figure out if these ridges (at least the one in front of us) is part of a boxwork structure. Unfortunately, we can’t quite reach their targets safely today because one of the rover’s front wheels is perched on a small pebble and might slip off if we move the arm. Instead, we will take a lot of remote sensing observations and reposition the rover slightly so that we can try again on Friday. 

But before repositioning, Curiosity will start off by taking a huge Mastcam mosaic of all terrain around the rover to help us document how it is changing along our path and with elevation. Mastcam then will look at “Temblor Range,” which is a nearby low and resistant ridge that also has some rover tracks from where we previously crossed it. Mastcam is also imaging a trough that is similar to the other troughs we have been seeing locally and that have multiple possible origins. Then, Mastcam will image the AEGIS target from the prior plan. ChemCam is taking a LIBS observation of “Glendale Peak,” a rugged top portion of the ridge defining the potential boxwork structure, which is to the right of the workspace, and an RMI mosaic of Texoli butte. Mastcam follows up the ChemCam observation of Glendale Peak by imaging it. 

In parallel with all the imaging is our monthly test and maintenance of our backup pump for the Heat Rejection System (the HRS) The HRS is a fluid loop that distributes the heat from the rover’s power source to help keep all the subsystems within reasonable temperatures. We need to periodically make sure it stays in good working order just in case our primary pump has issues. 

After all the imaging, the rover will bump 30 centimeters backwards (about 12 inches)  to come down off the pebble and put the interesting science targets in the arm workspace. This should leave us in a position where it is safe to unstow the arm and put instruments down on the surface.

On the second, untargeted sol of the plan, we have some additional atmospheric science including a large dust-devil survey, as well as a Navcam suprahorizon movie and a Mastcam solar tau to measure the dust in the atmosphere. We finish up with another autonomous targeting of ChemCam with AEGIS.

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May 19, 2025

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1 min read Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan

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6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets

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6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4534-4535: Last Call for the Layered Sulfates? (West of Texoli Butte, Headed West)

Article


1 week ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

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Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

Curiosity Navigation

• Curiosity Home
• Science
• News and Features
• Multimedia
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3 min read

Sols 4541–4542: Boxwork Structure, or Just “Box-Like” Structure? NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image using its Left Navigation Camera on May 14, 2025 — Sol 4539, or Martian day 4,539 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 00:57:26 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Written by Ashley Stroupe, Mission Operations Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Earth planning date: Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Today we came into another strange and interesting workspace (see image above) that is as exciting as the one we had on Monday. This is our first arrival at a potential boxwork structure — a series of web-like, resistant ridges visible in orbital images that we have been looking forward to visiting since we first saw them. Today’s observations will be the first step to figure out if these ridges (at least the one in front of us) is part of a boxwork structure. Unfortunately, we can’t quite reach their targets safely today because one of the rover’s front wheels is perched on a small pebble and might slip off if we move the arm. Instead, we will take a lot of remote sensing observations and reposition the rover slightly so that we can try again on Friday. 

But before repositioning, Curiosity will start off by taking a huge Mastcam mosaic of all terrain around the rover to help us document how it is changing along our path and with elevation. Mastcam then will look at “Temblor Range,” which is a nearby low and resistant ridge that also has some rover tracks from where we previously crossed it. Mastcam is also imaging a trough that is similar to the other troughs we have been seeing locally and that have multiple possible origins. Then, Mastcam will image the AEGIS target from the prior plan. ChemCam is taking a LIBS observation of “Glendale Peak,” a rugged top portion of the ridge defining the potential boxwork structure, which is to the right of the workspace, and an RMI mosaic of Texoli butte. Mastcam follows up the ChemCam observation of Glendale Peak by imaging it. 

In parallel with all the imaging is our monthly test and maintenance of our backup pump for the Heat Rejection System (the HRS) The HRS is a fluid loop that distributes the heat from the rover’s power source to help keep all the subsystems within reasonable temperatures. We need to periodically make sure it stays in good working order just in case our primary pump has issues. 

After all the imaging, the rover will bump 30 centimeters backwards (about 12 inches)  to come down off the pebble and put the interesting science targets in the arm workspace. This should leave us in a position where it is safe to unstow the arm and put instruments down on the surface.

On the second, untargeted sol of the plan, we have some additional atmospheric science including a large dust-devil survey, as well as a Navcam suprahorizon movie and a Mastcam solar tau to measure the dust in the atmosphere. We finish up with another autonomous targeting of ChemCam with AEGIS.

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details

Last Updated

May 19, 2025

Related Terms

• Blogs

Explore More

1 min read Sols 4539-4540: Back After a Productive Weekend Plan

Article


6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4536-4538: Dusty Martian Magnets

Article


6 days ago

2 min read Sols 4534-4535: Last Call for the Layered Sulfates? (West of Texoli Butte, Headed West)

Article


1 week ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

All Mars Resources

Explore this collection of Mars images, videos, resources, PDFs, and toolkits. Discover valuable content designed to inform, educate, and inspire,…

Rover Basics

Each robotic explorer sent to the Red Planet has its own unique capabilities driven by science. Many attributes of a…

Mars Exploration: Science Goals

The key to understanding the past, present or future potential for life on Mars can be found in NASA’s four…

It was big news years ago when Mars orbiters found streaks of what appeared to be water running down Martian cliffs and crater walls. Scientists worked hard to figure out what they were. Some proposed that they were seasonal streaks of briny ice, melting as the weak Mars summer arrived. New research says no to that.

Recent breakthroughs suggest that hydrogen reservoirs are buried in countless regions of the world, including at least 30 U.S. states

5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) One of the navigation cameras on NASA’s Perseverance captured the rover’s tracks coming from an area called “Witch Hazel Hill,” on May 13, 2025, the 1,503rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scientists expect the new area of interest on the lower slope of Jezero Crater’s rim to offer up some of the oldest rocks on the Red Planet.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is exploring a new region of interest the team is calling “Krokodillen” that may contain some of the oldest rocks on Mars. The area has been on the Perseverance science team’s wish list because it marks an important boundary between the oldest rocks of Jezero Crater’s rim and those of the plains beyond the crater.

“The last five months have been a geologic whirlwind,” said Ken Farley, deputy project scientist for Perseverance from Caltech in Pasadena. “As successful as our exploration of “Witch Hazel Hill” has been, our investigation of Krokodillen promises to be just as compelling.”

Named by Perseverance mission scientists after a mountain ridge on the island of Prins Karls Forland, Norway, Krokodillen (which means “the crocodile” in Norwegian) is a 73-acre (about 30-hectare) plateau of rocky outcrops located downslope to the west and south of Witch Hazel Hill.

A quick earlier investigation into the region revealed the presence of clays in this ancient bedrock. Because clays require liquid water to form, they provide important clues about the environment and habitability of early Mars. The detection of clays elsewhere within the Krokodillen region would reinforce the idea that abundant liquid water was present sometime in the distant past, likely before Jezero Crater was formed by the impact of an asteroid. Clay minerals are also known on Earth for preserving organic compounds, the building blocks of life.

“If we find a potential biosignature here, it would most likely be from an entirely different and much earlier epoch of Mars evolution than the one we found last year in the crater with ‘Cheyava Falls,’” said Farley, referring to a rock sampled in July 2024 with chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by life long ago. “The Krokodillen rocks formed before Jezero Crater was created, during Mars’ earliest geologic period, the Noachian, and are among the oldest rocks on Mars

Data collected from NASA’s Mars orbiters suggest that the outer edges of Krokodillen may also have areas rich in olivine and carbonate. While olivine forms from magma, carbonate minerals on Earth typically form during a reaction in liquid water between rock and dissolved carbon dioxide. Carbonate minerals on Earth are known to be excellent preservers of fossilized ancient microbial life and recorders of ancient climate.

The rover, which celebrated its 1,500th day of surface operations on May 9, is currently analyzing a rocky outcrop in Krokodillen called “Copper Cove” that may contain Noachian rocks.

Ranking Mars Rocks

The rover’s arrival at Krokodillen comes with a new sampling strategy for the nuclear-powered rover that allows for leaving some cored samples unsealed in case the mission finds a more scientifically compelling geologic feature down the road.

To date, Perseverance has collected and sealed two regolith (crushed rock and dust) samples, three witness tubes, and one atmospheric sample. It has also collected 26 rock cores and sealed 25 of them. The rover’s one unsealed sample is its most recent, a rock core taken on April 28 that the team named “Bell Island,” which contains small round stones called spherules. If at some point the science team decides a new sample should take its place, the rover could be commanded to remove the tube from its bin in storage and dump the previous sample.

“We have been exploring Mars for over four years, and every single filled sample tube we have on board has its own unique and compelling story to tell,” said Perseverance acting project scientist Katie Stack Morgan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “There are seven empty sample tubes remaining and a lot of open road in front of us, so we’re going to keep a few tubes — including the one containing the Bell Island core — unsealed for now. This strategy allows us maximum flexibility as we continue our collection of diverse and compelling rock samples.”

Before the mission adopted its new strategy, the engineering sample team assessed whether leaving a tube unsealed could diminish the quality of a sample. The answer was no.

“The environment inside the rover met very strict standards for cleanliness when the rover was built. The tube is also oriented in such a way within its individual storage bin that the likelihood of extraneous material entering the tube during future activities, including sampling and drives, is very low,” said Stack Morgan.   

In addition, the team assessed whether remnants of a sample that was dumped could “contaminate” a later sample. “Although there is a chance that any material remaining in the tube from the previous sample could come in contact with the outside of a new sample,” said Stack Morgan, “it is a very minor concern — and a worthwhile exchange for the opportunity to collect the best and most compelling samples when we find them.”

News Media Contact

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov  

2025-071

Share

Details Last Updated May 19, 2025 Related Terms

• Perseverance (Rover)
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Mars

Explore More 6 min read NASA, French SWOT Satellite Offers Big View of Small Ocean Features Article 5 days ago 6 min read NASA Observes First Visible-light Auroras at Mars

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5 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) One of the navigation cameras on NASA’s Perseverance captured the rover’s tracks coming from an area called “Witch Hazel Hill,” on May 13, 2025, the 1,503rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Scientists expect the new area of interest on the lower slope of Jezero Crater’s rim to offer up some of the oldest rocks on the Red Planet.

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is exploring a new region of interest the team is calling “Krokodillen” that may contain some of the oldest rocks on Mars. The area has been on the Perseverance science team’s wish list because it marks an important boundary between the oldest rocks of Jezero Crater’s rim and those of the plains beyond the crater.

“The last five months have been a geologic whirlwind,” said Ken Farley, deputy project scientist for Perseverance from Caltech in Pasadena. “As successful as our exploration of “Witch Hazel Hill” has been, our investigation of Krokodillen promises to be just as compelling.”

Named by Perseverance mission scientists after a mountain ridge on the island of Prins Karls Forland, Norway, Krokodillen (which means “the crocodile” in Norwegian) is a 73-acre (about 30-hectare) plateau of rocky outcrops located downslope to the west and south of Witch Hazel Hill.

A quick earlier investigation into the region revealed the presence of clays in this ancient bedrock. Because clays require liquid water to form, they provide important clues about the environment and habitability of early Mars. The detection of clays elsewhere within the Krokodillen region would reinforce the idea that abundant liquid water was present sometime in the distant past, likely before Jezero Crater was formed by the impact of an asteroid. Clay minerals are also known on Earth for preserving organic compounds, the building blocks of life.

“If we find a potential biosignature here, it would most likely be from an entirely different and much earlier epoch of Mars evolution than the one we found last year in the crater with ‘Cheyava Falls,’” said Farley, referring to a rock sampled in July 2024 with chemical signatures and structures that could have been formed by life long ago. “The Krokodillen rocks formed before Jezero Crater was created, during Mars’ earliest geologic period, the Noachian, and are among the oldest rocks on Mars

Data collected from NASA’s Mars orbiters suggest that the outer edges of Krokodillen may also have areas rich in olivine and carbonate. While olivine forms from magma, carbonate minerals on Earth typically form during a reaction in liquid water between rock and dissolved carbon dioxide. Carbonate minerals on Earth are known to be excellent preservers of fossilized ancient microbial life and recorders of ancient climate.

The rover, which celebrated its 1,500th day of surface operations on May 9, is currently analyzing a rocky outcrop in Krokodillen called “Copper Cove” that may contain Noachian rocks.

Ranking Mars Rocks

The rover’s arrival at Krokodillen comes with a new sampling strategy for the nuclear-powered rover that allows for leaving some cored samples unsealed in case the mission finds a more scientifically compelling geologic feature down the road.

To date, Perseverance has collected and sealed two regolith (crushed rock and dust) samples, three witness tubes, and one atmospheric sample. It has also collected 26 rock cores and sealed 25 of them. The rover’s one unsealed sample is its most recent, a rock core taken on April 28 that the team named “Bell Island,” which contains small round stones called spherules. If at some point the science team decides a new sample should take its place, the rover could be commanded to remove the tube from its bin in storage and dump the previous sample.

“We have been exploring Mars for over four years, and every single filled sample tube we have on board has its own unique and compelling story to tell,” said Perseverance acting project scientist Katie Stack Morgan of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “There are seven empty sample tubes remaining and a lot of open road in front of us, so we’re going to keep a few tubes — including the one containing the Bell Island core — unsealed for now. This strategy allows us maximum flexibility as we continue our collection of diverse and compelling rock samples.”

Before the mission adopted its new strategy, the engineering sample team assessed whether leaving a tube unsealed could diminish the quality of a sample. The answer was no.

“The environment inside the rover met very strict standards for cleanliness when the rover was built. The tube is also oriented in such a way within its individual storage bin that the likelihood of extraneous material entering the tube during future activities, including sampling and drives, is very low,” said Stack Morgan.   

In addition, the team assessed whether remnants of a sample that was dumped could “contaminate” a later sample. “Although there is a chance that any material remaining in the tube from the previous sample could come in contact with the outside of a new sample,” said Stack Morgan, “it is a very minor concern — and a worthwhile exchange for the opportunity to collect the best and most compelling samples when we find them.”

News Media Contact

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Molly Wasser
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / molly.l.wasser@nasa.gov  

2025-071

Share

Details Last Updated May 19, 2025 Related Terms

• Perseverance (Rover)
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Mars

Explore More 6 min read NASA, French SWOT Satellite Offers Big View of Small Ocean Features Article 5 days ago 6 min read NASA Observes First Visible-light Auroras at Mars

On March 15, 2024, near the peak of the current solar cycle, the Sun produced…

Article 6 days ago 6 min read NASA’s Magellan Mission Reveals Possible Tectonic Activity on Venus Article 6 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Scientists have developed a new computer model to explore the the interstellar medium, in turn generating stunning images that resemble abstract works of art.

Tracking exoplanets via orbital mechanics isn't easy. Plenty of variables could affect how a planet moves around its star, and determining which ones affect any given exoplanet requires a lot of data and a lot of modeling. A recent paper from researchers led by Kaviya Parthasarathy from National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan tries to break through the noise and determine what is causing the Transit Timing Variations (TTVs) of HAT-P-12b, more commonly known as Puli.

What we know about Joe Biden’s cancer, prognosis and treatment options

Extreme solar storms are a relatively rare event. However, as more and more of our critical infrastructure moves into space, they will begin to have more and more of an impact on our daily lives, rather than just providing an impressive light show at night. So it's best to know what's coming, and a new paper from an international team of researchers led by Kseniia Golubenko and Ilya Usoskin of the University of Oulu in Finalnd found a massive Extreme Solar Particle Event (ESPE) that happened 12350 years ago, which is now considered to be the most energetic on record.

The Chinese company Galactic Energy sent four satellites into orbit today (May 19) on the fifth sea launch of its Ceres-1 solid rocket.

There are a range of competing views on whether smartphones and social media are harmful to adolescents, and an attempt to settle the debate has instead sparked more disagreement

There are a range of competing views on whether smartphones and social media are harmful to adolescents, and an attempt to settle the debate has instead sparked more disagreement