3 min read<\/p>\n
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-pia26728-fig-a-curiosity-captures-dawn-breaking-on-wind-carved-cliffs.png?w=1837\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe captivating shapes of wind-carved crags called yardangs are revealed in this zoomed-in crop of a broader panorama captured by NASA\u2019s Curiosity Mars rover on Aug. 11, 2026. Scientists are eager to learn more about how the yardang layer formed.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA newly released panorama captured by NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission\u2019s scientists have long been waiting to see up close. The scene was snapped at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time, showing striking blue hues in the foreground as bright morning light illuminates crags known as yardangs on the horizon. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The panorama was captured by Curiosity\u2019s Mastcam<\/a> on Aug. 11, the 4,982nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission, and comprises six individual images that were stitched together after being sent to Earth. Unlike most of Curiosity\u2019s Mastcam images, this one was processed without white balancing, preserving the early morning appearance. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/pia26728-curiosity-captures-dawn-breaking-on-wind-carved-cliffs-.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe six shots that make up this panorama, captured by NASA\u2019s Curiosity on Aug. 11, were stitched together after being sent back to Earth. Unlike most images from the rover\u2019s Mastcam, this one was processed without the usual white balancing \u2014 an artistic choice that preserves the early morning appearance.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe yardang layer extends roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) across the northwestern reaches of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. In fact, the rover recently passed another milestone in its ascent, reaching 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) of elevation<\/a> \u2014 the most ever climbed on Mars. As it draws ever-closer to the yardangs, mission scientists expect to get even more amazing imagery \u2014 and, they hope, answers to how these cliffs were created.\u00a0<\/p>\nMount Sharp is made up of layers, each recording a distinct period of Mars\u2019 history. By studying them, scientists have been able to learn more about lakes and streams<\/a> that covered this part of the Red Planet billions of years ago. Eventually, the water dried up and left salty minerals behind. After new material stopped settling on the mountain, some of it may have been stripped away by wind, giving rise to the yardangs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e2a-pia15101orig-yardang-annotation-1.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/figure>\nThis artist\u2019s concept shows Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that NASA\u2019s Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. The location of the yardang layer, which the rover recently captured from a distance, is indicated by an ellipse annotation on the mountain\u2019s northwestern shoulder.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ESA\/DLR\/FU Berlin\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e2b-pia26729-curiosity-looks-back-after-reaching-altitude-milestone.jpg?w=1024\")
<\/figure>\nNASA\u2019s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view looking back at the floor of Gale Crater on Sept. 5, 2026. Just nine days prior, the rover had marked 1 kilometer of elevation gain above the crater floor since beginning its ascent of Mount Sharp in 2014.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech\/MSSS<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1-pia26728-fig-a-curiosity-captures-dawn-breaking-on-wind-carved-cliffs.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>A newly released panorama captured by NASA\u2019s Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission\u2019s scientists have long been waiting to see up close. The scene was snapped at 8:30 a.m. local Mars time, showing striking blue hues in the foreground as bright morning light illuminates crags known as yardangs on the horizon. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The panorama was captured by Curiosity\u2019s Mastcam<\/a> on Aug. 11, the 4,982nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission, and comprises six individual images that were stitched together after being sent to Earth. Unlike most of Curiosity\u2019s Mastcam images, this one was processed without white balancing, preserving the early morning appearance. \u00a0<\/p>\n The yardang layer extends roughly 10 miles (16 kilometers) across the northwestern reaches of Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) mountain that Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. In fact, the rover recently passed another milestone in its ascent, reaching 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) of elevation<\/a> \u2014 the most ever climbed on Mars. As it draws ever-closer to the yardangs, mission scientists expect to get even more amazing imagery \u2014 and, they hope, answers to how these cliffs were created.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mount Sharp is made up of layers, each recording a distinct period of Mars\u2019 history. By studying them, scientists have been able to learn more about lakes and streams<\/a> that covered this part of the Red Planet billions of years ago. Eventually, the water dried up and left salty minerals behind. After new material stopped settling on the mountain, some of it may have been stripped away by wind, giving rise to the yardangs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a><\/figure><\/figure><\/figure>