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Curiosity Take Its Closest Look Yet At Martian Spiderwebs

MSL Curiosity captured this panoramic image of boxwork formations in the lower foothills of Mt. Sharp in Gale Crater. Boxwork formations are low ridges about 1 or 2 meters tall that formed long ago when water flowed through a network of underground fissures. These formations were imaged by the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter in 2006, and their presence in Gale Crater was one of the reasons Curiosity was sent there. NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

When MSL Curiosity was sent to Gale Crater, one of its goals was to study boxwork ridge features on Mt. Sharp. The rover has gathered its fourth sample from the rocks, and results are on their way. Previous samples showed tantalizing evidence in favour of ancient life on Mars. But we're still waiting for the extraordinary evidence required to conclude that Mars was once inhabited.



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