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After climbing through Mars’ dramatic boxwork terrain, Curiosity has reached a prime vantage point, the perfect spot for a sweeping 360° Mastcam panorama. From this ridge, the rover is documenting the intricate ridge-and-hollow patterns of the boxwork unit, along with layered buttes that rise in the distance. It’s been 70 sols since the last panorama, and Curiosity has covered significant ground since then, this view is set to be spectacular. 🪐✨

The plan includes a rich set of imaging and science tasks:
🔹 Mastcam & ChemCam RMI will focus on nearby exposures like “Arequipa Airport,” fractured features named “Laguna de Salinas” and “Laguna Santa Rosa,” and troughs around a light-toned float block called “Arubai.” Farther out, the “Uyuni” butte will also be mosaicked.
🔹 ChemCam LIBS will fire on targets “La Coca” and “El Algodón” to study unusual colors and textures in the local bedrock.
🔹 APXS & MAHLI will investigate “Yura Tuff” (with brushing) and “Tipnis” (without brushing), providing chemistry and close-up textures of the knobbly bedrock.

For the Martian atmosphere, it’s still cloud season in Gale Crater, so Curiosity’s environmental science team is busy, too:
☁️ Mastcam sky surveys will measure dust and water ice.
🌥️ A special cloud altitude observation will capture video of drifting clouds and their shadows, helping calculate wind speeds and cloud heights.
🌪️ A short movie will also hunt for dust devils dancing across the terrain.
Meanwhile, REMS and DAN continue their steady monitoring of Mars’ daily environment, tracking temperatures, humidity, and radiation at Curiosity’s new scenic stop.

From this ridge, Curiosity isn’t just looking around — it’s peering deep into the past, studying rocks and textures that may hold secrets of ancient Martian water and climate. This is one of those rare “pause and take it all in” moments on the journey up Mount Sharp.

@OurGalaxy83

📸 Captured by: Right Navigation Camera
📅 Image Date: July 24, 2025 (Sol 4609) at 21:29:43 UTC
🗓️ Earth Planning Date: Friday, July 25, 2025
✍️ Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
🎶 Audio Editing: O.G. 83
🎬 Video Editing: O.G. 83
🎨 Visual Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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