On July 24, 2025, marking the 4,608th Martian day, or Sol, of its operational period, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured imagery of rock formations within Gale crater on Mars that bore a striking resemblance to coral due to wind erosion.
This image of the Paposo rock was taken by Curiosity’s MAHLI instrument on July 24, 2025. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
One of the rocks, sculpted by aeolian processes, was documented by Curiosity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a sophisticated camera situated at the extremity of its robotic appendage.
“Designated ‘Paposo,’ the geological specimen was positioned approximately 5 centimeters (2 inches) from the MAHLI instrument at the moment of image acquisition,” conveyed members of the Curiosity expedition team in an official communiqué.
Concurrently on the same celestial date, Curiosity employed its Remote Micro Imager, a component of the ChemCam suite of instruments, to scrutinize another rock exhibiting a coral-like morphology.
This image of a wind-eroded rock was taken by Curiosity’s Remote Micro Imager on July 24, 2025. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
“The Curiosity rover has encountered numerous diminutive features akin to these, which originated billions of years ago during periods when liquid water was present on the Martian surface,” stated the research personnel.
“Water served as a transport mechanism for dissolved minerals into fissures within the rock strata. Subsequently, as the water evaporated, these consolidated minerals remained, leaving behind characteristic structures.”
“Prolonged abrasion by wind-blown sand over vast epochs has gradually eroded the surrounding rock material, resulting in the formation of these distinctive contours.”
“This ubiquitous geological phenomenon is observed extensively on our planet, Earth, and has similarly given rise to remarkable formations on Mars, including a rock exhibiting a floral silhouette.”
Curiosity rover took this selfie on October 11, 2019. The rover drilled twice in this location, nicknamed Glen Etive. Just left of the rover are the two drill holes, called Glen Etive 1 (right) and Glen Etive 2 (left). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS.
Initiated on November 26, 2011, Curiosity represents the fourth exploratory vehicle dispatched to the Red Planet by the United States.
Spearheaded by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, this groundbreaking endeavor involves the collaborative efforts of approximately 500 scientific experts hailing from both the United States and various international territories.
The Curiosity mission is dedicated to the systematic exploration of the Gale crater, a vast impact basin measuring 154 kilometers (96 miles) in diameter, and is tasked with collecting and analyzing samples of rock, soil, and atmospheric gases.
This robust rover, comparable in size to a standard automobile, stands at a height akin to that of a basketball player and utilizes a dexterous robotic arm, measuring 2.1 meters (7 feet) in length, to precisely position analytical instruments in close proximity to meticulously selected rock targets for investigation.
