New Delhi: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance Mars Rover has been in the headlines lately but it is not the only 'rover' on the red planet.


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The US space agency has another Mars rover named 'Curiosity' that recentlycelebrated its ninth landing anniversary on the red planet. To mark the occasion of nine years of Mars exploration NASA posted a new panorama image from the Curiosity rover.



The Curiosity rover touched down the Gale Crater on August 5, 2012. Curiosity’s mission began on the surface of the crater but it has spent most of the last nine years climbing higher on the crater’s central peak, known as Mount Sharp.



The panorama image by the Curiosity rover reveals various characteristic features of the Martian land. The rover can see all the way to the rim of the crater some 20 miles away. That’s possible because it’s currently winter on Mars when there is less dust in the air. 


The rover has travelled a total of 16.3 mi (26.3 km), climbed 1,509 ft (460 m) in elevation & collected 32 drilled samples which will help the scientist to understand why and how Mars lost its water. These discoveries will feed into the ongoing Perseverance mission, which is exploring another part of the red planet.


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