Curiosity Mars rover sizes up new 'Nazca' dig site | Space photo of the day for Nov. 10, 2026
The Curiosity team will characterize the surface composition of the Mars site, informally named "Nazca," as thoroughly as possible before drilling into it.
Key points
- NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this close-up image using its Mars Hand Lens Imager, showing the abundance of disc-shaped potential crystal forms on our next drill target, dubbed "Nazca." (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS) NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is sizing up its next dig site on the Red Planet.
- (Image credit: Chelsea Gohd/Future) A futuristic single-person aircraft takes to the skies at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the upper stage of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket providing a dramatic backdrop.
- It uses an onboard focusing process to make a composite of images of the same target acquired at different positions to focus on multiple features in a single image.
The relatively large sizes of the crystal forms at "Nazca" may provide clues about the temperatures at which they grew, as well as information about the abundance of salts and fluids in the area at the time.
Additional details
- The aircraft was performing flight demonstrations during the UP.Summit gathering, which formed part of the larger MAX POWER event at the Kennedy Space Center.
- The new minerals are known as "pseudomorphs," because they have the same shape as the original minerals but not the same composition or molecular structure.
- The future of flight meets space exploration as a futuristic electric aircraft hovers beside Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket stage.
- Complicating this picture, however, is the fact that mineral crystals can be replaced by other minerals after their original crystallization.
- Scientists theorize that the "discs and needles" texture takes its characteristic shape as crystals, or "crystal forms," grow.
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