Tech

NASA’s Curiosity rover finds ‘Cacao’, a special meteorite on Mars


It is not uncommon to find meteorites on Mars. In fact, NASA’s Curiosity Rover has done it a few times already. But this one is special because it is made of nickel iron. This unique meteorite is called “Cacao”. NASA’s Curiosity probe detected an iron-nickel meteorite on January 28, 2023 on Mars. The meteorite, estimated to be about 1 foot or 30 cm in size, was found in the sulphate unit of Mount Sharp. This is just one of many meteorites that Curiosity has encountered during its exploration of the Red Planet.

Why do NASA scientists study meteorites? For details on how we solar system evolved into the planets we see today, and how a meteorite impact could affect our future.

The technology behind the image of metallic meteorites on Mars

The panoramic image was captured by Curiosity’s Mast Camera (Mastcam) using a 100 mm lens. The final image is a composite of 19 separate images that were stitched together after being transmitted back to Earth. The colors have been adjusted to simulate the Earth’s lighting conditions seen by the human eye.

NASA explains that the image is made up of six individual images captured by Mastcam’s 34mm focal length lens. These images are then combined together and sent back to Earth.

Learn more about NASA’s Curiosity Rover

NASA’s Curiosity Rover is a car-sized rover launched by NASA in 2011 as part of a Mars Science Laboratory mission. The main goal of autonomous vehicles is to explore Gale Crater on Mars and determine if the planet has ever had the right conditions to support microbial life. Curiosity is equipped with a set of science instruments and cameras that allow it to analyze the soil, rocks and atmosphere of Mars. The rover is also capable of drilling into rock and collecting samples for further analysis.


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